Poem Review: Dance

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a millionaire.

I still do. But that is not a life goal any more.

Today, I just want to be happy. Happiness means to dance, write, read, reflect, converse and watch. I will find my money and living style, alright.

In particular, I want to dance. I am a comic and dud, when I dance. With spidery arms and legs, and a pot belly — which I try to dissolve by intermittent running — I try to shake my neck, hips and legs, and my family get their dose of daily fun. My world is at peace.

Add this info — my wife is a dancer. She is a trained and artist in the classical Indian dance form called ‘Bharatnatyam’. As I observe her practices and performances, I can vouch for one thing — both in terms of joy and effectiveness of expressions, dance stands out as the most evolved form of human expression, because it is the visual representation of one’s state of mind. (Music is a close second.)

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul”
― Martha Graham

A picture is more than a thousand words. An expression is more than a thousand pictures. Dance is all about expression. It speaks the language of what and who we are — our souls. It can express the full range to joy to sorrow and stoicism.

What about poetry about dance?

Dance is that magic of that fleeting moment, unlike a painting or poetry that is left to posterity to savor. Yet it is dance that leads because living the moment is a gift, and dance is about living the moment.

Poetry about dance is about is capturing that fleeting moment and rendering it to posterity. That is the magic of poetry about dance. The poet is not the poem, but the dancer is the dance. So the poetry covers the dancer and the dance. Exotic, right?

I bring together this magical capture of the present and sharing into posterity through three poems. Let us shake a leg.

Poem 1: Dance is my drug of choice

Dance is my drug. Image by ArtTower from Pixabay

Growing up in days of disco,
dancing is my drug of choice.

Wildly moving,
slowly swirling,
and daring to stare
my admirers
down.

Groups do scare me,
so I grow my mask
with intense
conversation.

The unbearable lightness of being
has always been true for me.

But then the music
starts to flow
and off I go.

Perplexing the party poopers
who thought I was shy
who thought I was boring
who thought I was frigid
or frighteningly
fierce.

Dancing is my drug of choice.

Where will the river of music
take me
today?

My internal stream starts flowing
and I follow wherever
she goes.

Vibrant vortexes accelerate
my flow in steady beats
and when the G-forces
throw me out
I land in calm water
where my rhythmic breath
solidifies my limbs
and makes space
for hesitant connection.

Your eyes meet mine
and I drown.

Commentary on Poem 1:

Dance is about the dancer and the dancer is about the dance. Through this poem, Desiree Driesenaar brings out the personality and emotions of the dancer.

Growing up in days of disco,
dancing is my drug of choice.

Wildly moving,
slowly swirling,
and daring to stare
my admirers
down.

Groups do scare me,
so I grow my mask
with intense
conversation.

I remember my childhood of the late 70’s and 80’s when Hindi, Tamil and Telugu movies would carry songs that had a peppy beat, and the dancers would wear colorful, glittering dresses. The stage or the dance floor would be lit with colorful bulbs, rhythmically flashing and colored glasses reflecting rays and shadows on the dancers. It was called ‘Disco’. It was not a dance, but a culture.

The famous ‘smoking pipe’ or the ‘hookah’ where one can draw the smoke in, and as it fills up the nostrils, the heady feeling brings together an eclectic bliss. Our folks called it the ‘hippy’ or the ‘Hare Rama, Hare Krishna’ cult, where dance and drugs went together.

The poet grew up in the ‘age of disco’, like myself , and no wonder if there was a heady ‘drug of choice’, it was dance. I can feel the ultimate expression of inner bliss.

‘Wild moves’ and ‘slow swirls’, the reference to altering speeds, and at the same time, ‘dare to stare down my admirers’, indicate the exhibition of her dance talent, yet her self conscious nature.

In an environment, where hairs are down and feet are lose, the bliss yet aware nature reflects the self-preserving instinct of the dancer.

“But here, in the great room decked out for the party, flirtation mixed with challenge and laughter with the occasional pained scream,”
― Sarah K.L. Wilson, Dance With The Sword

A reality peep here. A flowing environment like a dance party is where wine flows, distance disappear, words flirt, bodies gyrate and lips intertwine. There are lines crossed, and in some cases, the ‘self-preservation instinct’ plays an important shield against any potential indiscretion.

This is a denouement and probably a misplaced exaggeration, yet I place it here with the liberty of a writer, as the ‘occasional pained scream’ that may disappear in the deluge may still find the attention of a good Samaritan.

Well, I may be wrong, as we read further verses. We will try to unravel this, so stay with me.

The dancer is an introvert. ‘Groups do scare me’, she says. It is a specific trait and a situation that somebody would avoid. Yet, the dancer is there. This situation is important to realize. Doing something you are scared of. In a group, the dancer slips a mask of ‘focused conversations’. That is a coping mechanism.

If there was the sense of ‘self-preservation’ and the ‘agoraphobia’ was overwhelming, why would the dancer turn up in the first place?

The unbearable lightness of being
has always been true for me.

The opportunity to dance is overwhelming. The discovery of ‘unbearable lightness of being’, when she dances is the reason she is on the dance floor for. The feeling of lightness is without any baggage — identity, fear, guilt or anxiety — and that liberates the dancer’s mind and body.

So, the risk of coming to the dance floor, despite being agoraphobic and self-conscious, is worth it. See how it adds up. I cannot but appreciate the backstory of the dancer’s presence on the dance floor.

But then the music
starts to flow
and off I go.

Perplexing the party poopers
who thought I was shy
who thought I was boring
who thought I was frigid
or frighteningly
fierce.

Dancing is my drug of choice.

Now coming to the act itself. ‘The music starts to flow’, and ‘off she goes’.

The dance floor is surrounded by people with opinions and conformations. A fabric of conformity and bias pervades the atmosphere, intruding into the ‘party ambience’.

The party poopers, who are conformists and opinionated think the dancer is ‘shy’, ‘boring’, ‘frigid’ or ‘frighteningly fierce’. It seems that self-conscious or self-preserving behavior might have spooked the biased minds. Yet, when she went off when the music flowed, the onlookers were ‘perplexed’. Won’t they be?

Given the life of the people, anything that challenges their set patterns makes them upset. So, let us move on.

How does the dancer feel on the dance floor? She declares that dance is her drug of choice. Let us explore this drug’s effect.

Where will the river of music
take me
today?

My internal stream starts flowing
and I follow wherever
she goes.

As the music injects a dose of dance in her body, she goes with the flow.

Vibrant vortexes accelerate
my flow in steady beats
and when the G-forces
throw me out
I land in calm water
where my rhythmic breath
solidifies my limbs
and makes space
for hesitant connection.

The dancer combines speed and stillness in her movements.

‘Vibrant vortexes accelerate and when the G-forces throw me out’, indicates a heady set of twists, twirls and turns, that flow with the beats of music, and the turns so fast that it beats gravity.

When the speed gets exhilarating, she still ‘lands in calm water’, as she synchronizes her body moment with her ‘rhythmic breath’. The synchronization leads to calmness and the gyrating limbs solidify, and ‘makes space for hesitant connection’, meaning, the dance creates a space for the reticent dancer, so that she can deal with her inner vacillations better.

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.”
― Martha Graham

The creation of space and the life force through moves — twirls, twists and turns, fed by rhythmic breath and pulsating beats of music is the ultimate outcome of uninhibited dance.

Your eyes meet mine
and I drown.

In that space, where the mind is vacant, the heart is pulsating and the soul is free, the dancer’s eyes meet the other, and she drowns.

Dance is the elixir of love, isn’t it? As she drowns in their visual contact, sensuality is the outcome.

We shall explore how the dancer slips from a liberating dance to the one that entangles herself into a seductive amour.

Poem 2: Naked outside of Eden

Naked outside of eden: image by efes of Pixabay

She is a secret thing,
Of fantasy and dream,
Phantom figure in the
Back corners of my mind,
Swirling dancing woman,
Eyes bright with the heat
The music and the fire
The wonder and the wine,
Timeless dancer, her face
Smiling across the flames,
And the span of time,
As she dances ancient rituals
The artlessly seductive way
Women have known since
First a man and woman
Saw and desired each other
Naked outside of Eden.

~Donovan Baldwin

Commentary on Poem 2:

Dance is the oldest art. Before human knew how to write, paint or sing, she turned her body in a fluid motion, and there was born dance. Dance was the first tool of seduction, and the most perfect. Music, words and pictures are younger and still to catch up.

“Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.”
― George Bernard Shaw

The expression of desire is dance. Add mystery to desire. The dancer who was ‘self-conscious and crowd averse’ in the first poem, now has a mysterious element around her in the second poem. The point of view now switches to that person in which she made eye contact and drowned.

She is a secret thing,
Of fantasy and dream,
Phantom figure in the
Back corners of my mind

‘She was a secret thing’ — the opening lines adds that element of mystery to the desire. The man — let us call him the ‘watcher’, who fantasizes and dreams about the ‘dancer’.

I don’t know if animals dream, but human fantasy is beastly and beautiful, because there are no limits to dreams and desire. The underlying lust can flame into a poetic metaphor, raw desire wrapped in an art foil, but when a poet sees it — it is poetic lust.

The mystery of the dancer kindles the flame in the watcher, and she is this ‘phantom figure of his mind’. Her mysterious silhouette sparks the ember.

Swirling dancing woman,
Eyes bright with the heat
The music and the fire
The wonder and the wine,

‘Swirling and dancing woman’, is who he sees, invigorated by his desire. As he sees the flowing body in gracious moments, he is drawn to her eyes. Her eyes are ‘bright with heat’ — there is a metaphor here — ‘heat’ reflecting her own sensuous desire, and her eyes, the reflectors.

Yet, literally, she is dancing in front of a bonfire, perhaps. ‘The music’ — the pulsating beats now adding the aural component of the act, and ‘the fire’, the visual component — both the bonfire and the fire within, burning in desire and anticipation. If that is not enough, we see the ‘wonder and wine’, the alcohol adding fuel to the ‘flame’.

“Either give me more wine or leave me alone.”
― Rumi

The power of wine, pure and subtle, remains in the background, yet provides sublime titillations to the senses, that are already tuned to the fire, music and dance.

Timeless dancer, her face
Smiling across the flames,
And the span of time,
As she dances ancient rituals

‘Timeless dancer’ originates from ‘timeless dance’. It is the art known to human even before they spoke — see the peacocks and the beetles, they dance to mate.

Dance is the foreplay. Such an art, spans across all creatures, making it the only art that all creatures can perform. So, timeless it is, the art itself, and timeless she is, the performer.

She smiles, knowing that she is good and knowing what she wants. Her smile fans the flames, themselves crackling in laughter. Her movements are timeless and ancient, as we have seen.

The artlessly seductive way
Women have known since
First a man and woman
Saw and desired each other
Naked outside of Eden.

Can art be artless? I think so. The wink and glare of an eye, the inviting smile and the gesture or gyration that does not fit into a text book dance, yet it conveys a real meaning, that strips the charades of civility, betraying the raw emotion, then art can be artless.

“And there was something so artless in this smile that I had to smile back.”
― James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room

The invite which is artless, does get a response back.

For that was how, ‘first a man and woman saw and desired each other naked outside of Eden’. As much as the veils of civility are reaped apart, a desire that is raw, yet rich, flows between the two passionate souls — the dancer and the watcher.

While the act outside Eden gets erotic, how about some self-love?

Dance is soup for our souls. If you are searching for salvation or solace, dance is the best companion.

Poem 3: Let Dance Command

Let dance command: Image by cocoparisenne at Pixabay

Play some soul
Start to sway
Turn it up
All the way

Close your eyes
Let all go
Unlock the dancer
In your soul

Freedom flows
As you dance
Magical
Is this trance

Music rhythm
Funky beats
Souls on fire
Happy feet

Alluring twists
Swinging hips
Synchronizing
Curled up lips

Potent power
Clapping hands
Uplifting tempo
Big bop bands

Sliding floors
As with slippers
Graceful arms
Tingling shivers

Countless people
With commotion
Let dance command
Your locomotion

Lord have mercy
This is bliss
Spirits rise
Feeling massive

Worries leave
As does fear
Provoking dance
Makes you cheer

Anytime
You’re feeling blue
Summon up
This power shoe

Ancient movements
Beat enhanced
There is healing
When you dance

~Paula Goodman

Commentary on Poem 3:

This poem is a simple way of how to dance.

Play some soul
Start to sway
Turn it up
All the way

Close your eyes
Let all go
Unlock the dancer
In your soul

It is that simple. The words of these verses and the steps to dance. All you have to do is to listen to music that appeals to your music, and then sway with it. The idea is to let the music seep in, and embrace the dancer within you.

Music rhythm
Funky beats
Souls on fire
Happy feet

Alluring twists
Swinging hips
Synchronizing
Curled up lips

Dance to the rhythm of the beats. Have you seen your feet happy? Then dance. Set your souls on fire.

Swing and twist your hips, and mime the song in your curled lips. See it is that simple.

“Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion.”
― Martha Graham

Have you began? Now you just dance. Dance. When you let the music lead, and you follow with your heart, you master the art.

Potent power
Clapping hands
Uplifting tempo
Big bop bands

Sliding floors
As with slippers
Graceful arms
Tingling shivers

Countless people
With commotion
Let dance command
Your locomotion

Now look around. Do you see the dance floor and the music band? As you dance, they clap, lifting the tempo and perhaps, reaching a crescendo for each song that is belted out by the disco jockey or music band. The crescendo brings shivers, the feeling of exhilaration. The excitement draws ‘countless people’ and ‘commotion. The poet suggests that you keep the focus — the dance shall command your moves.

Lord have mercy
This is bliss
Spirits rise
Feeling massive

Worries leave
As does fear
Provoking dance
Makes you cheer

Anytime
You’re feeling blue
Summon up
This power shoe

When I write this piece, it is already Christmas. That time of the year, when peace and quiet engulfs us. So, praise the Lord, that He has mercy upon us, that this blissful time of Christmas continues. The spirit of life stems from hope and happiness.

Let us all keep our worries and fears in a closet, and let us our feet lose and hair down, that shall cheer ourselves and people around us. Anytime you feel the blues, put on your dance shoes.

Such a simple ‘swaying to the music’, brings the art and answers out of us.

Dancers are the answers

“Dance, when you’re broken open. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you’re perfectly free.”
― Rumi

Dance is the go-to therapy for happiness and sorrow, for the highs and the lows, for bondage and freedom, in war and peace.

Seduce life through dance.

Your life is your dance. You are the dancer.

~Ashok Subramanian