Make them laugh

Olga Brajnović

12 years ago

In my earliest memories of dancing, I’m under my auntie Nancy’s dining room table, (which had been pushed off to the side of the room), watching my mom, dad, aunties, and uncles all dancing on the hardwood floor to a never-ending stack of 45 records, dropping one after the other. I remember foot-high stacks of 45s all around the record player. The song that I remember playing most? Twistin’ the Night Away by Sam Cooke. Every time I hear that song, I remember auntie’s spontaneous dance parties. What are your earliest and fondest memories of dance?

I was six. The saint patron day of my school was approaching so we had to rehearse something to perform in a show in front of all the students, teachers and parents. Our teacher decided it would be classic dance. My mom had to sew for me a white ballerina dress with a tu tu. I thought I looked ridiculous in that dress. I was embarrassed. But I had bigger worries. I always had problems telling left from right so there was no way I possibly could learn the dance. Every time I tried to follow the steps I ended going to the opposite side I was supposed to go. If I had to lift my right arm I lifted the left and so on. I was constantly stumbling upon the other girls. A total disaster. And my teacher insisted in putting me in the front row where my mistakes were so obvious.
A week or so before the show I fell and hit my forehead against a metal door. I got a deep wound, pretty serious. I even lost consciousness. I recovered fast. But I had my head bandaged, my left eye blindfolded and my face bruised. Not a pretty look for a little ballerina. I was hoping I would be released from my dancing duties, but I was not so lucky. I had to be in the show with the rest of the class anyway. But my teacher decided to put me in the back row, were I would get unnoticed. Finally I was able to do what the others were doing by looking at them from my privileged post at the back of the stage where nobody would see me.
I’ve got rhythm, I’ve got music… but I’ve never got dance. My arms and legs are anarchic. Never obeyed me. I envy people who can dance and enjoy looking at them, but I only dance to make people laugh.

Daily Prompt: Let’s Dance.
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