Dance – Daily Muse

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”~Oscar Wilde

As human beings we all seek to love and be loved. Love cannot be explained, measured or seen. It is a feeling that comes from deep within our soul.

There is no greater power in the world than love. It makes us feel alive, makes our hearts sing and brings a sense of purpose and contentment.

We seek love and yet it sometimes eludes us. We have thoughts of what we think love IS. We have thoughts about what we think it should be but when was the last time someone asked you the question “how do you want to be loved?” Better yet when was the last time you asked yourself “how do ‘I’ want to be loved?”

I must admit that I’ve never asked myself this question. I know “who” and “what” I’m looking for but never have I explored HOW I want to be loved. When this very question was brought to my attention in a recent dance performance I attended called “The Seventh Love” (an original work written and directed by David Kersnar, performed by Natya Dance Theater) I realized not only how important it is to ask but how profound and powerful it is in the asking.

How can you love someone the way they want to be loved without asking them the question “how do you want to be loved?” How will someone love you the way you want to be loved if you haven’t first asked yourself this question to really know how it is you want to be loved? How can someone possibly love you the way you want to be loved if you don’t first love yourself how you want to be loved?

The “act” of loving is different than the pure vibration of love that resides within each of us. Accessing our own unique vibration of love, being that love and allowing it to pour forth allows us to “actively” love ourselves and others. We show others how we want to be loved by loving ourselves how we want to be loved.

Pure unconditional love is a vibration filled with acceptance, appreciation, affection and allowing. It is not until we connect with ourselves and the vibration that we can even begin to answer the question. The answer in “The Seventh Love” was as profound as the question. “By allowing me to love the way I want to be loved”. Expression of divine inner love comes from a place of allowing yourself to love and be loved freely without judgement, attachment to an outcome or expectation.

How do I want to be loved? I want to be accepted for who I am and allowed to express that love without reservation. I want to be loved with respect and affection and allowed to love with respect and affection. I want to be loved for the divine spark that resides within. I want to be loved freely, without judgement or expectation. As I love myself in this way I show others and it tells others how I want to be loved.

Romance your soul. Explore and discover how you want to be loved. Ask another how they want to be loved and allow them to love the way they want to be loved. Love YOURSELF the way you want to be loved and have a lifelong romance!~Shine Your Light Debbie

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Chicago is a world-class city with world-class dance and since there is nothing as inspiring and spiritually uplifting as watching a dance performance, I went to the Chicago Dancing Festival’s finale which culminated a full week of FREE performances.

I have to say I got much more out of the evening than simply watching and enjoying an inspiring performance on a beautiful night under the stars at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. I got to experience it through the eyes of a 4-year-old boy I never met who just happened to be sitting next to me with his mom.

Chicago Dancing Festival is the ONLY free festival of its kind in the nation. The Festival’s mission is to present a variety of excellent dance, enrich the lives of the people of Chicago and provide increased accessibility to the art form, thereby helping create a new audience. Its vision is to raise the national and international profile of dance in the city, furthering Chicago as a dance destination.

I do believe Chicago Dancing Festival enriched the lives of many during their week of performances but I’d like to share a story of how the finale, “Celebration of Dance”, enriched and inspired the life of a 4-year-old whose mom could not otherwise afford to take her child to a performance.

It was a gorgeous Saturday evening and my friend Jackie and I walked over to Millennium Park where we knew we’d have to wait in line to secure seats in the pavilion. We were prepared with sandwiches, water and amusement. Yes, you must have your amusement while waiting in line for a free performance when it seems that all of Chicago wants to see it with you! They started letting people in at 6 so we found what we considered to be perfect seats and settled in. We still had about an hour or so before the show when a woman with her little boy sat next to us.

He was absolutely adorable so me being me, I said hello to the mom first and then the little boy. I asked him his name and with a brilliant smile and sparkly eyes he replied “Gabriel.” As a clairvoyant I can recognize a crystal child and there was no coincidence he and his mom sat next to us. After looking into those big brown, gold flecked eyes I thought, of course his name is Gabriel, and asked him if he was an angel. He giggled and proudly announced “I want to be a policeman!” I guess if you don’t want to be an angel when you grow up a policeman or fireman might be next in the mind of a 4-year-old. 🙂

We talked about policemen and what they do then I asked him if he was excited to watch the dance show. He nodded an emphatic yes. His mom said that she once took him to see a hip hop performance and months later found him doing the steps he saw. She added that she wants to expose him as early as possible to music and dance but can’t afford to take him so she really appreciates being able to bring him to a free professional performance.

Lower lights, que music, turn off all thought and be ready to enter the experience of world-class dance! The performance began with Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s premier of “In the Beginning”. About half way through the performance I looked over at Gabriel who was literally mesmerized. His gleaming eyes were as big as saucers as he (and all of us) watched this stunning, rhythmic, tap piece. For two hours Gabriel watched and listened intently. He didn’t take his eyes off the stage and his face really did look like that of a peaceful angel.

At the end of the show I turned to Gabriel and asked him if he liked the show. He smiled from ear to ear and said yes! His favorites were the tap and Ensemble Espanol’s gorgeous and colorful Bolero. He then proclaimed with enthusiasm “I WANT TO BE A DANCER!” I laughed and asked ‘I thought you wanted to be a policeman?’ To that he replied “nope a dancer”. (To all involved in the arts world who make performances like this possible, I hope you’re reading this!) Now I know this little boy will change his mind several times about what he wants to be when he grows up but in two short hours his spirit was touched. He will forever be touched by the vibration and joy of that performance.

It is so important we inspire our youth and expose them to the arts. Our youth are our future and those same youth are very the future of the arts! The arts are the physical manifestation of our spirits as well as an integral and fundamental part of our growth and expansion as a society. We must expose our youth to inspire them, enliven their spirits, encourage creativity and expand their minds by including music, dance, theater (or for that matter art in all its forms) so they pass along their experiences and do the same for generations to come.

To the Chicago Dancing Festival coordinators, dancers, choreographers, producers, directors and anyone and everyone involved I will say: Thank you! Well done! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

To Gabriel that little angel boy sitting next to me; Become a dancer, policeman or whatever else you want to be and when you grow up, remember how the dance made you feel. Bring your children and grandchildren and share the beauty of music, movement and dance so they too can support and grow the arts for their children. ~Shine Your Light Debbie

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