I often lose myself to music, let the song pick up and carry the emotions I don’t have the words for, allow my mind to drift and my body to move in whatever way feels best for it in those moments. With joy, excitement, sensuality, silliness, vibrancy I may dance. A simple sway to carry my sadness, yearning, heartache, hope into the world. Jumping, yelling, crying, shaking the walls of my home in vengeance, anger, reclamation. And sometimes absolute stillness, a quiet rest for my body while my mind runs through the world of the song and creates the movement and emotion and expression behind my eye.

Songs, I truly believe, are the sound of the soul. The way our spirits communicate the things we know but can’t explain, the lessons we internalize and let spill out with our voices and bodies. The communion between ourselves and those we love. What feeling is better than the one we share when enjoying music and dance with those we love. Driving with the windows down screaming lyrics at the top of our lungs, choreographing stupid little dances to a favorite tune to share with the world, learning the steps to a dance number for a celebration or just for fun, going out for a night of karaoke or dancing at the bars. These are the moments that feed our soul, that relieve the burden of living for a moment and lets us fly. This is what music and dance is to me. My friend, my comfort, my dictionary. The catharsis of movement, of sound, is healing. It is why we listen to sad songs, to angry songs, to happy songs. The range and depth of music tells so much of its own story and purpose. It is art. It is life, in its many forms. It is history.

The form and matter of dance tells us so much about who we are, where we come from, how comfortable we feel in the world, how we feel in time. It is a diary of who we were, who we are, who we want to be. Without song and dance, the world would be dull and lifeless, empty of that magic that makes life worth living.