Reformed Obsession: Recovering the Inner Life of Dance
Reading through some old notes and quotes today, I found this gem from Andrew Cooper in his book, Playing in the Zone: Exploring the Spiritual Dimensions of Sports. Although he writes about sports, the same can be written about dance:
“Our obsession with sport is a signal of its value. It is but a distorted sign of our passion to realize such qualities as beauty, excellence, transcendence, freedom, and communion. The problem with our obsession is not that we care about sports too much but that we care too little. We delight in the thrills, but we don’t love the craft… We want technical mastery without appreciating the traditions through which such mastery is transmitted. And in so doing, the intrinsic joys and inner life are lost.”
Dance is as much about spirit and character and communion as it about physicality and skill, as much an emotional and spiritual pursuit as it is a physical and mental one.
The empty dance is one in which your body is requested but your soul is ignored.
When we put intention into our movements and choices…
...the music is allowed to reveal its secrets.
...the partnership is infused with trust and understanding.
...the dance is flooded with meaning and purpose.
Let that be our obsession.
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