Dance & Dancing

Have you ever felt a thump-thump-thump in your chest when a great song comes on, making your toes start to wiggle all on their own. I am that feeling. I am the happy leap you do when you hear amazing news, the silly shimmy you do to make your little brother laugh, and the slow, gentle sway you feel when you are thinking about something important. Long before people had a special name for me, they felt me deep in their bones, a rhythm that just had to get out. I am a story that your body tells without using any words at all. Can you guess who I am. Hello, you can call me Dance.

I am older than the oldest stories written in books and more ancient than the tallest pyramids. In fact, some of the very first pictures that humans ever drew were of me. Can you imagine that. About 9,000 years ago in a place called Bhimbetka in India, people painted my movements right onto the walls of rock shelters. They drew figures holding hands, jumping high in the air, and moving together in big, happy circles. Thousands of years later, around 3300 BCE, people in Ancient Egypt painted me on the walls of tombs. They did this to honor their gods, celebrate a good harvest, and remember the lives of people they loved. I helped them tell exciting stories of great hunts, ask the sky for rain to help their crops grow, and celebrate the changing of the seasons. I was their special way of speaking to the world, to the gods, and to each other.

As people started to build big cities with castles and palaces, I put on some fancier shoes. In Ancient Greece, I was a star. The people invited me to be in their famous plays and at their most important religious festivals. Much later, during a time of amazing art and ideas called the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries, I became the main event in the royal courts of Italy and France. This is where one of my most famous children, Ballet, was born. A powerful queen from Italy named Catherine de' Medici loved me so much that when she moved to France, she brought me with her. On October 15th, 1581, the very first ballet was performed for her court. A French king, Louis XIV, loved me so much that people called him the 'Sun King' after a role he performed. He wanted everyone to learn my steps perfectly, so in 1661, he created the world's very first dance school.

But I couldn't stay tucked away in royal courts forever. My rhythm was too big for just one place. In the 20th century, I exploded with brand new energy. People began to feel that the old rules were too strict. A dancer named Isadora Duncan decided to kick off the stiff ballet slippers and move freely, using me to show big, powerful feelings. At the same time, new music like jazz got everyone's feet tapping and led to exciting new styles like the Charleston in the 1920s and swing dancing. Then, in the 1970s, I hit the streets of New York City. A powerful new culture called Hip Hop was born, and kids created amazing moves like breaking and popping. They used me to show off their incredible skills and tell their own stories right there on cardboard mats on the sidewalk.

Today, I am everywhere and I belong to everyone. You can find me in your school's gym class, at birthday parties, on spectacular theater stages, and even in the quiet moments when you're alone in your room. I help you celebrate your family's culture, express your biggest joys or your deepest sadness, and connect with your friends without ever saying a single word. I live inside the steady beat of your own heart. So whenever you feel the music start to play, let your story out. Wiggle, jump, or spin around. I'll be right there with you, every step of the way.