The other night I had the chance to watch the DVD version of the Patrick Swayze/Lisa Niemi movie “One Last Dance.” I’m not particularly a fan of contemporary dance; I prefer ballroom or ballet, even tap, but this movie fascinated me. The actors were using dance as their means of communication. They were speaking through their bodies.
The storyline was perhaps predictable, but the dancing more than made up for that. Through the movements of their arms and legs, we could see what the characters were thinking and feeling. We saw Patrick dancing out his frustration, Lisa experiencing a rebirth of her emotions, and together, they took a journey through anger and pain, forgiveness, and then tenderness. At the end, they were able to rekindle the love they had once felt for each other, and that too was shown in their dance. The more warmth they felt toward each other, the more in sync their movements were, and they demonstrated unity.
I have often heard dancers say that they just have to dance; that it’s who they are, and if they don’t get to do it, they’ll die. Every person who is passionate about what they do feels the same way. I have to write or I’ll go insane. Singers have to sing. It’s that need to reach out and express who we are in a way that others can understand so that we feel heard and validated. Some manage to do that very well through speaking or writing, but others find their best outlet through movement.
However it is that you communicate best, magnify that within your own life. You can truly find literacy in dance. By watching a dancer reach deep inside themselves and pull out the heart of who they are, you can read them more clearly than any book.