Shimmying around the house to the sounds of Sizzla, I got to thinking why is it that I only dance alone or with children? Where are the adults? Now I’m skankin to Mirror In The Bathroom and only the dogs roll on the floor in unison. How come it’s only small feet jumping up and down, pogoing to the music without fear? Where are the size 11’s?

I used to go dancing every night of the week if I could…back in the olden days. Now I daydream of swaying to Oscar Peterson by the fire, remembering my younger days and wondering why nobody dances at home anymore. The other day I moved my hips to a Isley Brothers tune and one of my oldest friends exclaimed that she had never seen me move “like that”. As if I were some kind of stick in the mud. I kindly reminded her that there were many years we did not see each other…

In high school my mod friends brought their records over to my house and we always danced- the guys always danced. In my 30’s I frequented a Mexican bar in Venice where my Russian boyfriend and I danced to Cumbia and drank tequila late into the night with people who spoke no English but enjoyed dancing. Once in The Haight many moons ago, I slow danced to some Reggae in a club so packed it only heightened the experience with my partner. He was a cross of Jim Jarmusch and Linda Evangelista and we made quite a pair. That was a pretty groovy moment in time and while I am not one to wallow in the past and tend to be more of a “be here now” kinda gal, why can’t I do that anymore? Where are the dudes that dance?

I have some friends that live part-time in Oregon and when they are in town we usually try to have dinner together. Our finest evenings are in-house; good dinner, good wine, silly conversations and then dancing like idiots. Each taking turns as dj…but this has become more rare now that they live elsewhere.

So if I am to make a New Years resolution (I never do), it will be to dance more. I will dance alone, with dogs, in front of friends, in the car, but not on the bar. I don’t care what I look like or if my moves are a bit too much like David Byrnes or something out of a David Lynch film…I’ve got to move. Shake it.