By Branson Hardcastle | Broadcast Reporter
Just dance. A phrase made popular by Lady Gaga in her hit song “Just Dance,” is a motto that my family lives by. As far back as I can remember, my family has been dancing to all sorts of music in a variety of different ways from two-stepping to the Carlton.
My mom made it a point to teach all five of her kids how to do different dances for different occasions. She and my dad taught us how to waltz, two-step and swing dance. All of my siblings and I have continued to dance over the years, but some of us have found it to be a way to escape from other things in the world.
For me, dancing is a way to express myself and a way that I find joy. Sometimes as I clean my room or other parts of the house, I blare music and dance like nobody is watching. It is usually one of the most fun parts of my days because nobody can judge me or make fun of me while I express myself.
My friends and I go to Moody Library to study, but most of the time studying doesn’t actually happen. Instead, I usually distract them by having random dance parties by myself with headphones in. They watch me and laugh while I do the shmoney or hit the nae nae with strangers watching as well.
One of the best parts of dancing is seeing the joy it brings to others. I show videos of professional dancers online to friends and family and watch a smile creep across their face or a shocked expression emerge because of an insane move.
I had the privilege of helping choreograph some of the dances for Zeta Zigga Zamma’s Zing this year. After working countless hours on the dances, the night came for the members and me to perform. We got up on stage and danced our hearts out to a roar from the crowd. In that short moment looking at everyone’s faces, I could see the joy that it brought them.
There were times when working on dances for Zing left me drained from running the moves over and over again to make sure they were perfect. There were some days when we would go over the dances for hours and hours, and I would wake up sore the next day.
I’m not saying the key to a happy life is to dance every day, but it can definitely be a way to have some fun every once in a while. It doesn’t matter if you have no rhythm at all, think your dance moves aren’t good or feel like you can’t dance as well as others, just dance. It is almost guaranteed to make your day or another person’s day at least a little better.
