Have you ever felt too old or too young on the dance floor?
Maybe you and your husband signed up for a Saturday morning ballroom dancing class and noticed everyone else arriving on a shuttlebus from the old folk’s home. Or maybe you surprised your wife with a romantic date night on your ten-year wedding anniversary and accidentally stumbled into a local college hotspot full of white baseball caps, bead necklaces, and Jello shooters. Or maybe you just find out the hard way that All-Ages usually means All-Under-Agers.
I mean, if you’ve ever found yourself saying “Man, I feel old here,” or “Does anyone else smell Ben-Gay?”, then you know what I’m talking about. It’s not that people of different age groups don’t socialize, it’s just that they don’t often groove to the same beats is all.
I think that’s why wedding dance floors are a real sight.
They’re a breeding ground for that amazing intergenerational dancing that’s just so rare and beautiful to see.
You’ve got grandmas slow-dancing with their five-year-old grandchildren to What A Wonderful World, old men crowd-surfing over a pack of sweaty teenagers, snaking conga lines of all shapes and sizes, and circles forming around anyone who happens to be doing something interesting — whether that’s a father and daughter team waltzing in circles or a slightly inebriated bridesmaid shaking her booty with a ninety-year-old great grandpa in a wheelchair.
Yes, intergenerational dancing is a rare and wonderful thing. It’s a magic moment where boundaries are broken and the thumping power of music sort of sweeps us all together into a tiny little place where everything’s just cast aside in favor of living for the moment.
AWESOME!
—
Hello Muskokas!
I will be speaking at the Northwoods Muskoka Literary Festival this Friday in beautiful Huntsville, Ontario. Hope to see you there and see details on the festival here!
Neil
That last photo is too cute! This really is an awesome thing. :)
It’s also awesome to find posts like this one during the second sweep — I’d forgotten about some of these golden oldies!
Agree! I just wish for “Sweeping Changes”, for the second time around, as in the book by Gary Thorp… to be new and familiar people coming out and commenting with needles pulling threads…to be still and listen now and zen, to the time, heart and soul, Neil Pasricha put down in words…realize how wonderful life is, with Awesome in the world, for others then and once again…reel the count-down into savour mode, as though it were the first time~ I feel a song coming on~ Boogie-woogie DANCE…all young, in betweeners and old:)
Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy your links to music vids, Wendy?! I do, I love ’em! They always make my day! :)
Well that is just Awesome! =D
And isn’t Emmy adorable singing with her ukelele:)))
Intergenerational Dancing~ The way a family and life is meant to be be…What a Wonderful World…it would be!
I’m not much of a dancer, but this seems like a very awesome thing. I need to start dancing more.
Dancing becomes a hassle when you get older – no one wants to get up on the floor. Thank god for weddings and family events.
Its definitely great to watch two generations….
I think it’s also great to hear-listen to, intergenerational story-telling:)
Just spent the weekend dancing up a storm! Went to the beach with girlfriends (yes, here on the East Coast it was cold…LOL)where we celebrated the upcoming wedding of a friend’s daughter. We danced until the sweat was dripping and we were exhausted! One of life’s great pleasures=dancing! I so enjoy weddings and such events for the intergenerational dancing. As a kid I remember being thrilled that I could dance with the grown ups. :)
I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I’m hoping the same high-grade web site post from you in the future too. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own blog going now. Really blogging is spreading its wings and growing quickly. Your write up is a good example.