After spending an evening contra dancing, (thanks to my wonderful Irish dance teacher,) I wondered if I could translate how I feel about dancing into words. Seeing as it's after 2:00 in the morning and I can barely focus my eyes - much less my mind - I'm hardly satisfied with the end result. So I would really appreciate reviews and opinions from others. :)


There were many things in life that she enjoyed doing - reading, writing, singing, playing her wooden harp - but none of them compared to dancing. The adage "Life is a dance, and dancing is Life," could have been written specifically for her.

The music crashed around her like a cheerful ocean, and her own whoops and claps joined with those of all the other dancers, filling the air with a splendid cacophony - and yet, it all seemed so distant, so surreal. All that was real to her was this, the dance; the rhythm and the motion as she whirled from her partner to her corner and back again, her gypsy attire swirling around her. A glow of pure, golden joy started in her very core before spreading out, igniting her blood and intoxicating her senses, and she threw back her head and laughed with sheer delight.

Here was where she belonged. This was her life's blood; this wild, whirling dance that seemed to capture all the beauty and spirit of the world and roll it into a repeating series of figures and formations. It was as if every single happiness she had ever known had come rushing back to surround her, weaving around her like an ever-moving wind of complete joy.

She snatched her long, full skirt in her hands, twirling it flamboyantly as she spun around her corner and stamping exotically before rising onto her toes and flowing, smooth as a quiet stream, into the next figure. It was as natural to her as breathing, and brought as much life to her soul as oxygen brought to her lungs. Her very skin tingled with an electrical current that zinged through her blood, filling her with an energy and zeal unparalleled.

A new corner caught her up, spinning her around before returning her to the arms of her partner, who whirled her in turn, her hair and gypsy skirt flying out behind her as she laughed again, delirious with joy - and then it all began again. Over and over, the wonder and happiness never lessening as she soared through the wild, rushing motions, 'til at last the music came to an end.

She dropped a deep curtsy to her partner before gliding back to her seat, her whole being still alight and thrumming with the delight of the dance.