Dancing By Myself: Sola

“Déjala que baile sola!!!”, the Afro-Cuban mujer sang in a free-style chorus that had all the womyn in the room swaying our bodies in a sensuous rhythm. “Let her dance by herself!”

I loved this moment and how every women felt in this energetic song vortex of femme empowerment and sacred feminity.

Through the years I’ve learned not to walk into a room waiting on the approval of “a magical other”. Instead, I walk into a room full of joy, inviting others in freely, without expectation or judgement.

I felt this while dancing Zumba all throughout the pandemic when I taught a virtual class that usually had about 1, 2, or 3 other people in it. 

This space to dance within beloved community meant the world to me. I danced as if the whole universe existed right there in my living room. I danced and let God’s creative energy flow through my hands and feet. I danced and held everything within that space of holy movement. 

I felt ecstasy while doing this class, and it was never dependent on how many people showed up–because i was there to dance and if others would join me–GREAT–though it was expected of no one.

I think about all the times I’ve handed my power over to an audience, waiting on another’s nod of approval or pat in the back as if there was this imaginary “committee” that needed to be the gatekeepers of my dream.  Today I am reminded that (in the words of Rob Bell) we are the committee, as in we are the ones that we’ve been waiting for. 

What does that mean to you, dear soul? 

I remember dancing Danza Kuduro during my first day of college. My friends still laugh and say that they saw me dancing outside in front of the café all by myself… “Ella estaba bailando completamente SOLA”, they’d say, (She was dancing BY HERSELF). They’d repeat the detail that I was by myself…. ”Sola,” they’d say again as we’d all crack up at the memory of me with my open-mouthed smile, dancing by myself in the corner.

“Sola” I’d dance. “Sola” I felt the delight, the warmth, and the openness of the present moment. “Sola” I did not remain… for joy always finds itself in good company.