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“Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.” -Martha Graham
I started dancing when I was 13 years old and the only people who knew was my family. I wouldn’t dare tell any of my friends at school. I imagined all the jokes and teasing I would suffer from my fellow classmates and that was enough to keep me quite. After all guys play football, basketball, soccer, anything that gets us dirty! Guys don’t learn to dance, that’s for girls! So during the week I went to school during the day but at night I would go take swing and ballroom lessons.
I lived a double life for about a year, until that fateful day, when a “swing dance club” from a local high school, came to my junior high. Everything was fine until they turned to the crowd and asked if anyone wanted to come up to the stage and dance with them. Without thinking, I jumped from my seat and said “I WILL!” I immediately regretted this decision. As I took that walk towards the stage everything went into slow motion. I could feel the ridicule and judgment being passed by the entire student body of La Paz Intermediate. And what should have been a short walk up became the green mile and I was the dead man walking. I finally got to the stage, found a partner, the music started and I began to dance in front of my entire school. I mean the entire school, every student, the entire faculty, the librarian, the lunch lady, everybody was there watching me dance. As I danced with my partner; legs kick extra hard my hands swing even bigger. I waited to hear inevitable laughter and heckling that was domed to come. But to my surprise it didn’t come. Instead it was replaced by a loud roar of cheering and excited yelling. There ware no jokes or teasing, but there was joy and excitement! Everyone was so excited to see one of their own go onstage and dance with (and may I add BETTER then) the high school kids that they embraced the moment and went crazy. As there cheering grew larger so did my dancing; I rocked the hell out of some rock steps! At the end of the song, my secret let out in front of the entire student body of La Paz Intermediate. And to my amazement, it was received with roaring applause.
For the next week I was like a star at my school and that’s a big deal for 13 year old.
I thought my secret, of dance, was something to be ashamed about but I was wrong. I learned from this and decided that it was okay for someone to be different. That we are not subject to societies stereotypes of what a man should be but we have the ability to do whatever is in our hearts and truly makes us happy. I find myself learning this lesson over and over again through out my life and each time it becomes easier and easier to be the man I want to be. A man that loves to dance!
You have to love the Korean dancers, I would dare say that they are the best audience in the world!
