I had a sudden realization today. I had a song in my head--can't remember which one but it was a country song--and I thought, wouldn't it be funny to dance to this like it's a disco song. Rolling my hands in front of my chest like I'm working bicycle pedals with them, then occasionally pointing up on one side, and then pointing up on the other.
Yes, I decided. That is what I'll do the next time the opportunity presents itself. Then it hit me. For about five or six years, possibly since Bud's wedding, whenever I've danced, it has not been in earnest. Instead, rather than actually dancing, I have parodied the act of dancing. For example, every wedding I've been too since Bud's I have slid across the dance floor on my knees at some point. I should clarify--this was at weddings that I've been drunk at. I remember returning one pair of rented tuxedo pants with small holes burned into the knees from such a move.
And I decided today that parody is the way to go from now on.
For me it's like karoke. The song needs to have a bit of ridiculousness and over-the-top showmanship. Dancing will now be the same way for me. I will assume a persona when I step onto the dance floor. But it will have to be one that I can actually pull off. For example, my persona couldn't be a kid from the streets whose whole life was the breakdance, and he just needed that one opporunity to show off his talent. Also, an ultra-suave Cary Grant sweeping the ladies off their feet wouldn't work.
Instead, I'll try to use what Will Ferrell calls "unearned confidence." I'll be the hopelessly out of date guy who thinks he can dance but has no idea what he's actually doing. There's enough of me in that part that I think I can make it work.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
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3 comments:
Ah, dancing, where self-consciousness and social awkwardness meet. It seems to me that my father was about my age when he retired from dancing forever. I think he was wrong to do so. Dancing can be extremely fun. Kelly and I did a crazy ass Texas Two Step for our wedding dance. And although no one has been exactly saying I'm the world's greatest dancer, you seem to get a lot of points for simply going for it.
If you wet your knees down Bruce Springsteen style, the slide move is easier.
I think women, who have hips, have us hopelessly outclassed in this. I've seen some very ugly women look sexy dancing. By contrast, I don't know that I've ever seen any man look sexy dancing, except for maybe Kevin Bacon.
Before the wedding, I had made my dancing motto, when in doubt, frug. That's when you stand in place, move your hips a little, and move your arms like you're playing two oversize slot machines in rhythm. It's very similar to the Monkey. I'm not good at it, but you don't really have to be.
Now I know a few moves, so my motto is, frug most of the time, throw in your moves sometimes.
By the way, since I'm now a dance expert, the dance you describe at the beginning of this essay is The Hustle. And you can dance it to anything, ANYthing in four/four time.
The only real trouble with adopting a persona for dancing is that I think it means that you have to judiciously use time. It's difficult to be ironic for two hours.
Lou, this makes me wonder about your "lovemaking" persona. Did you ever see "The Hand" with Michael Caine? There is a very funny sex scene in there that you must never think about when performing your husbandly duties.
Ah, dancing, where self-consciousness and social awkwardness meet. It seems to me that my father was about my age when he retired from dancing forever. I think he was wrong to do so. Dancing can be extremely fun. Kelly and I did a crazy ass Texas Two Step for our wedding dance. And although no one has been exactly saying I'm the world's greatest dancer, you seem to get a lot of points for simply going for it.
If you wet your knees down Bruce Springsteen style, the slide move is easier.
I think women, who have hips, have us hopelessly outclassed in this. I've seen some very ugly women look sexy dancing. By contrast, I don't know that I've ever seen any man look sexy dancing, except for maybe Kevin Bacon.
Before the wedding, I had made my dancing motto, when in doubt, frug. That's when you stand in place, move your hips a little, and move your arms like you're playing two oversize slot machines in rhythm. It's very similar to the Monkey. I'm not good at it, but you don't really have to be.
Now I know a few moves, so my motto is, frug most of the time, throw in your moves sometimes.
By the way, since I'm now a dance expert, the dance you describe at the beginning of this essay is The Hustle. And you can dance it to anything, ANYthing in four/four time.
The only real trouble with adopting a persona for dancing is that I think it means that you have to judiciously use time. It's difficult to be ironic for two hours.
Lou, this makes me wonder about your "lovemaking" persona. Did you ever see "The Hand" with Michael Caine? There is a very funny sex scene in there that you must never think about when performing your husbandly duties.
The fact that my wedding gave you that much inspiration to dance makes me all giddy. I must say, during the time my legs were under me, I danced with the same determination.
Bud
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