I have unleashed a monster in revisiting my lifelong passion for dancing. It all started last fall when I made the commitment to myself to lose weight. Then when I actually succeeded what else could I do but dance again? The familiar faces of yesteryear are still there, the teachers, the fellow students. Time has marched on and yet we tendue and releve, contract and release, as we have for decades. The joy of moving is rekindled in me as I turn and dip to a variety of music. I experience feelings of bliss in between moments of confusion when my brain and body don’t work together like they used to. But how I have changed! No more do I expect perfection. I am in it for the imperfect happiness of being able to move pretty well for a gal in her later years. Nothing hurts so it is a win-win as I get a work-out and an unique endorphin high at the same time. Yoga does the same for me, but having live accompaniment from a professional pianist is out of this world too. So in addition to my regular yoga practice and good, long walks, I think I’ll keep in my inner dancer out in the light. Like Don Henley sang back in the nineties, “All she wants to do is DANCE.” This is what I live for whether it’s on the yoga mat, swing dancing with my hubby, rolling around on the floor with modern dancers, or extending into tour jetes with fellow enthusiasts. In my mind, life is always better with movement.