National Dance Day 2011

by Diane Forrest, RN

In Ecclesiastes 3 it states,

" ¹To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;

Being brought up in a Southern Baptist Church, we didn't hear much about this verse. In fact I remember once when the music minister brought in a ballet group it put the whole congregation in a uproar.

Dance is a wonderful thing, with plenty of benefits. Dancers can:

1. become flexible;

2. gain strength;

3. increase endurance; and

4. establish a sense of well being.

Dancing increases the heart and lungs as well as provide for a social and fun atmosphere.

Each culture has their own ritualistic way of dance that has been around since the beginning of time. When I think about tribal dances I recall the scene from The Jewel of the Nile with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner where she dances to capture her man's heart or in the movie Crocodile Dundee when the aborigines men perform their dance around the campfire.

Every Spring our local Indian village hosts a Pow Wow where Native Americans travel from all across the country to join others in traditional dances. This event is open to the public and is a joy to watch the young and old practice the skills passed down from generation after generation.

These days’ people are tuning into Dancing with the stars to watch as some of their favorite personalities learn difficult dance moves to compete for the grand prize, a mirrored ball trophy. This fascination with dance has also prompted several video games that allows people to dance along to their television screen for fun and exercise.

I have never been much of a dancer; I never took dancing as a child because, well as my daddy tells me, I lacked coordination. I couldn't even walk and chew gum at the same time. When I asked my friend if he planned to dance he said "Sure! In my office at home!"

Dancing is great for you, gets the heart pumping and the blood flowing. In the words of the Lee Ann Womack song, "when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance!"

So get up and dance to your favorite tune, enjoy the moment!