One of my favorite parts of weddings is watching the people dance. Being a pretty strong introvert, I always gravitated as far away from the center of attention as I could growing up, which has had the unfortunate side effect of making me completely inept out on the dance floor. It works out though, since being able to sit and watch people is one of my favorite past times.
And when it comes to people watching, there are few things that top watching them dance. Weddings are especially great too, since they usually make for an eclectic mixing of people, personalities, styles, ages, etc. I can't help but be moved by the whole thing. Little kids love to dance and they do it with reckless abandon. The really amazing thing is that if even the barely walking kids dance. Once they can stand, and usually before they learn to talk, they dance.
It's something we don't really think much about, that dancing is so innate to us. We don't learn it, at least not at it's most fundamental level. We are born dancing. Music moves us before we understand what it is to be moved. It is this expression of joy that we can't contain. As if the body is unable to contain all of that happiness and must express it physically. We hear that music and it moves us.
I wonder sometimes if it is us remembering some connection to the divine. Like somewhere deep down we know that the universe hums, oscillating at some frequency we are attuned to. We remember it when we make our music. We remember it when we hear our music. It fills us with the need to be in motion.
Dance floors are people at their best. They have forgotten about the struggles and are lost in their own movements. They are connecting with their partners or their friends or their family without needing to speak or coordinate or plan. People lose themselves in the music, let go of their thoughts and give in to their bodies. Not just their bodies, they give in to their souls. For just a little while, they give up control and let some deeper part of themselves drive.
It's like church for me. It makes me believe that there is some thread weaving us all together. For me, it is the embodiment of beauty, expression, and love. I can't think of a better way to celebrate a wedding.
