Why walk when you can dance?

Ever since I was in diapers I’d shake my little bosom to the beat, any beat. Maybe it’s because when my mom was carrying me in her womb she used to put on music and dance her life away. Maybe it’s because God just simply wanted to make me that way. Or maybe it’s because I’m Brazilian and dancing plays a big role in our culture. All I know is, I’m not always good at expressing myself with words and gestures, but I sure as hell am good at expressing myself through music and dance. Whether it’s at a nightclub, gym, supermarket, library or shower, if there’s music playing and its good, I’ll dance; moderately depending on where it may be just so I don’t look like a complete weirdo, although, to be honest I don’t really care. It’s something that my body can’t avoid; something that comes out of me so naturally, so effortlessly. Some people could say that’s a bad thing, but without dance I can’t picture my life as peaceful and plain beautiful. Music is wonderful, dance is wonderful, and when combined together; it’s astronomical. I can’t deny the fierceness it has brought upon me throughout my life. When life doesn’t treat me right, music and dance sure will.
My childhood wasn’t always lonely being an only child, but when it was; music and dance were there not only to richly occupy my time, but also to let my emotions out and clear my head. Dance helped me through what I believed to be “tough days”. When mom and dad weren’t home, busy working hard to pay those bills; I’d blast our home theater system with music according to whatever mood I was in. Some days I would come home from school, which felt like a prison back in Brazil (a place where I was always watching my back from girls who would threaten me with their gang banger boyfriends), and put my problems aside and dance my worries away. When the music played my mind, body and soul instantly synced into another dimension, a magical unknown place to some. I’d open up the windows on those hot steaming summer days and let the wind dance along with me. My problems didn’t go away after I was done dancing, but they sure made me realize life wasn’t as bad as it seemed. I was breathing, healthy and safe and that was good enough for me.
Before my family and I moved to the USA, I didn’t know much about other cultures. Once we moved here, I realized dance not only helped me in so many ways, as it did get me to meet new people with different cultures and different styles of dance. I had been to festivals and shows back in Brazil, but there was only so much I could learn from my own culture. Once I was of age, I started going to raves and festivals in Massachusetts and through dance I met amazing people, even though I’d probably never see them again, I had a part of them within me, and that felt pretty awesome. I was able to share