move within the dizziness that is you: never stop dancing.

This article first appeared on Rebelle Society in 2013. Since it is no longer on their platform, I reclaim the right to publish the original version. 

the Beatles museum Liverpool

move within the dizziness that is you: never stop dancing.

My last year has been centered around drums and dancing. As if life wants to remind me of how I once used to dance. How we all used to dance.

The latest trigger point of reminiscence was a festival I recently attended. And oh, how I remembered! This small festival in the middle of the Swedish forest is not like other music festivals. It is constructed out of workshops, concerts and dance gatherings. Created by people who have Love as their religion.

On the first evening, I softly welcomed the music into my body by absorbing the comforting concerts through every cell. Eyes closed, I let the vibrations work their magic. The following morning offered an inspiring challenge: how to look (as in dive) into the eyes of a stranger. Remembering that maybe you do not even look the people closest to you in the eyes, even if you meet them everyday. In the eyes you truly see the soul: a reflection of yourself and the world.

When doing this, we need no words because we listen to the togetherness. And then we smile and sing and dance. The more we stamp our feet, the louder our voices get and the more connected we are. Connected to one another, and to this planet we all share as our home.

Connected in heart rates through the vibrations of the music.

In an event like this, liberating dance is of course offered on the agenda. Now, here is a workshop to really go wild! I dance alone when I dance with others. We all dance together, as in the symbiosis that is life. No judging, only smiles. The rhythm inside the pelvis is evident and present, following the drum: the heart of the Mother.

Following the movements of Kundalini. The bubbliness swirls up from Mama Earth through the feet, the hips, the heart and the mind, and into the Universe. Dance it out. Dance it in. Dance the world. Dance your life. I want to bring the bubble to the outside! And I want to remind you too!

I have long wondered about modern society’s way of including dance in its culture. Restricting. We create dark spaces in basements and call them discotheques. Then, you are served (well, you have to pay) drugs to forget who you are, where you came from, where you are and what we are. Lamps flash in multiple colors and the music is computer-made, screaming so loud that the whole body hurts. And then you are supposed to move?

Move to the artificial beats, little marionette!

Move the dizziness that is now you — created by drugs and psychedelic lightings! Away! Dance in small groups, away from each other. No looking in the eyes. No exaggerated movements — don’t feel too much! In the dizziness, you also have to remember how to look good when moving. Others are watching. Eyes are on you, not with you. Creating distances.

Our forefathers -– yes, indigenous people — have all danced in their cultures. They knew — and they know — that sharing music and movements create love. And love is connection. And isn’t that what we all really seek: connection? To be seen and heard and loved?

Festivals like this one remind us of that connection. But what about bringing it back into everyday life? How about feeling connected all the time? Let us start moving, dancing and looking each other in the eyes again! Let us spend those Friday nights in natural lighting, dancing alone with everybody and sharing the rhythms and the love bubbles!

After the festival, a beautiful woman with piercing blue eyes came up to me and said:

“It was a delight seeing you on the dance floor yesterday.
Never stop dancing!”

Creative Expressions by Writer Magdalena Chandrakaí