GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLFRIEND GATHERINGS

Learning from YOU to empower ME !

Best Things in Life #11 – Dancing

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If you are endowed with the ability to hear the beat and rhythm of music then you are capable of enjoying one of the most exciting experiences of human movement – dancing.    Dance is just as ancient as the human race and has been an integral part of our rituals, social events, and spiritual gatherings.   Dance remains one of the most expressive ways that we communicate with one another.

I love dance.   In my youth, I won a few freestyle dance contests and a talent show.   As a teenager, I recall dancing every single day after my chores were done.    I could dance alone, with a partner, or with a group of friends.   At the high school dances my partner and I were always one of the first couples on the floor.   When the music started I could not keep still as there was such freedom in “moving” to the music.   As a young woman, the ability to dance was a prerequisite for all date candidates and the prelude to some very sensual moments.

Then, life happened.   I met someone I really cared about but he did not express himself with dance.  I stopped dancing.   In fact, dancing became a very distant memory for many years as I navigated through motherhood and career.   It slipped away so silently that I did not notice it was gone because of the busy-ness of my life.

Then, I entered into the empty nest phase.   I met someone who brought dance back into my life.  I had all the time to become reacquainted with the freedom and sensuality of it again.   As that old saying goes – it IS better the second time around.

Just to name a few memorable dancing experiences – I have danced the Salsa (Mambo & Merengue) in Miami, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Aruba, and Acapulco.   I have danced the traditional dance of Welcome with the Tlingit Natives in their Beaver Clan House in Ketchikan, Alaska.   I have attempted to hula dance at the Luau Kapolei and the Polynesian Cultural Center in Oahu; and  standing near a waterfall on the road to Hana in Maui.   I still have the Tango to accomplish in Buenos Aires before I can call it quits.

Dancing is happiness.   One of my recurring fond moments is when I am traveling with my sister.   At some point during our time together she will stand in front of a mirror in our hotel room or cruise cabin and dance to the music in her head.     This is when I know she is at her happiest moment.  I always laugh and join her.

Here are some video clips of some happy Salsa dancers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_xwl_y5uT44

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZHIQULn-MI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjSClEqdInw

QUESTION(S):

Can you dance?

Do you like to dance?

When was the last time you danced?

Girlfriend Gathering Movie Review – Get On Up – James Brown Biopic

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Girls Night OutA group of girlfriends and I had a “movie and lunch” outing to support the movie “Get on Up” – the James Brown Biopic.    The movie was awesome and Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal / performance of James Brown was FANTASTIC!  The first thing I did when I arrived home after that outing was to order CDs with 50 of James Brown’s songs from Amazon.

This movie reminded me that I was lucky to grow up in the 60’s and 70’s when music included “real” musicians with “real” musical instruments and songs told a story or had a message.    I remember how the music of James Brown made us FEEL and MOVE.  The pony, the twist and the jerk were some of the dances of my childhood.    I know I discovered how my hips could move imitating his girl dancers and dancing to the beat of his music.  When he would tell Maceo to “take it to the bridge” no person with ears and rhythm could remain still.   You had to move.  James Brown and his orchestra gave us “funk” before we had a word for that type of music.

I learned some things about his life that was news to me from the movie.   I knew he grew up poor in Georgia but I did not know the full circumstances of his childhood.   It was moving to know the obstacles that he overcame in his life to become the musical genius and icon in modern music.   We, in the African-American community, will always treasure his contribution to us in claiming our own racial identity as we moved from being Negro to being Black to being African-American.    His song, “Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” helped us proudly claim what some would have us shun in shame and instilled racial pride in our children.  It was beautiful coming from one who had endured so much.

If you haven’t made plans yet, please consider seeing the movie.   I plan to purchase it for my movie library when it is released.   When my music CDs arrive from Amazon I plan to put Zumba away for a while because I will be able to move to “I Got the Feeling” and “Papa Got a Brand New Bag”!

Here’s a link for those who may need a little reminder of the power of the James Brown’s FUNK:

 

The Best Things In Life #1 – Hearing Your Favorite Song on the Radio

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I know we all like material things but sometimes the best things in life aren’t always tangible.   So, over the next several weeks, I am going to remind you of a few things that we all should treasure at some point.    Here is the first one.

I am sure we all have experienced this at some time.   You can be stuck in your car in a traffic jam or on a long road trip – bored to tears.    Or, you can be doing some weekend house cleaning with the radio on (which is the only way I can clean house).   Suddenly, you hear one of your favorite songs on the radio and before you know it you have revved up the volume, started snapping your fingers, swaying/dancing to the beat, and singing along.  You are giving that song your full attention.

There are only special songs that can do this for me.    Here is a list of the first 10 that quickly come to my thoughts.   You may be familiar with a few (I hope!).

  •  For the Love of You – Isley Brothers
  • Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye
  • Sexual Healing – Marvin Gaye
  • Respect – Aretha Franklin
  • (I Feel Like) Busting Loose – Chuck Brown
  • Disco Lady – Johnny Taylor
  • Just My Imagination – The Temptations
  • Fortunate – Maxwell
  • Like You’ll Never See Me Again – Alicia Keys
  • Whip Appeal – BabyFace

As you can see, some are love songs and some are what I call “sassy songs” that are just “telling it like it is” – sort of like my personality!

QUESTIONS:

Have you ever felt this way about a song on the radio?

If so, please share a few of your favorite songs that had the power to get you moving.

If not, please tell us why not?