Thursday, July 19, 2012

Dance Your Troubles Away


Belfagen Dancers
(photo courtesy of Liz Fenwick/dancers courtesy of Anna Louise Lucia)


I’m still in recovery from last weekend’s RNA Conference in Penrith. A weekend which has become my writing New Year’s Eve, a time and place for me to assess the last year and plan for the new. A place to learn as well as a place to talk too much, drink copious amounts and generally get up to mischief.

This year it hit me like a proper new year. With all the angst and fear and heartache that I suffer every 31st December. This last year has been full of ups and downs and beyond busy in a personal sense. I also realized (after being grumpy and various Heroine Addicts giving me great advice) that I haven’t been writing enough. Three hours of solid writing later and my mood was on the way back.

But what really got me in the new year spirit was something not directly connected with writing. The lovely Anna Louise Lucia is a morris dancer and asked her dance side to come and demonstrate to us on Sunday afternoon. They also taught us two dances. It was AMAZING! Everyone was grinning from ear to ear after we’d finished. All the cobwebs and problems were swept away as we tapped and twirled, dipped and swung.

“Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.” Voltaire

“We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.” Friedrich Nietzsche

“To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking” Agnes De Mille

“It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance.” Xiaolu Guo

“Life is sweet when you pay attention. When it doesn't seem sweet, put a sticker on your nose and do a funky dance.” Whitney Scott

Come back on Sunday to hear from Susanna (who we missed at the RNA)

9 comments:

  1. That is so true about dancing lifting the spirits. I shall dance once a day in future! And I wish I'd been there for the Morris Dancing lesson.

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  2. It sounds really fun - the dancing, the parties, the whole conference in fact! x

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  3. Wish you had stayed, Bex. Next time!

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  4. You should come one year, Emma.

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  5. I thought that 'heart afraid of breaking' quote was from Bette Midler! Shows what I know.

    The dancing was great. I loved it.

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  6. I'd run out of energy by that time (RNA conferences can do that to you :)), but I really enjoyed watching you all and you were awesome Biddy! Dancing is wonderful, must do it more often.

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  7. Julie - who knows who stole it off who! ;-)

    Dancing was fab!

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  8. Pia - I love dancing and need to do more of it too. Wish I lived in Cumbria then I could join
    Love Biddy 'Twinkle Toes' Coady

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  9. Oh wow, what a fantastic post. I'm going to send the link round Belfagan.... I'm so glad it was a good thing for you!

    Anna

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