For centuries dance has been an evolving art form. Much like poetry, it gives us a vessel for communicating our thoughts, releasing emotions, honing our skills and creating our own unique stories and style. Depending on the presentation or genre, dance can fill our hearts with joy or move us to tears. Culturally, it carries these common threads but also the capacity to connect and educate us about each other. In our own virtual dVerse pub alone, I’m sure there is a melting pot of dance moves we could share. Imagine the party! (Sorry but my contribution would be more like Elaine’s from Seinfeld.)

Let’s let Langston Hughes warm us up.

Dream Variations by Langston Hughes

o fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me-
That is my dream!

To fling my arms wide
In the face of the sun,
Dance! Whirl! Whirl!
Till the quick day is done.
Rest at pale evening . . .
A tall, slim tree . . .
Night coming tenderly
Black like me.

Poems about dance have a way of luring us in to feel the rhythm, grace and fluidity of movement. We are transported onto the dance floor or at least mesmerized by the imagery of it all. In this piece, the dancers are described as flowers, their passion escalating from stanza to stanza.

Indian Dancers by Sarojini Naidu

Eyes ravished with rapture, celestially panting, what passionate bosoms aflaming with fire
Drink deep of the hush of the hyacinth heavens that glimmer around them in fountains of light;
O wild and entrancing the strain of keen music that cleaveth the stars like a wail of desire,
And beautiful dancers with houri-like faces bewitch the voluptuous watches of night.

The scents of red roses and sandalwood flutter and die in the maze of their gem-tangled hair,
And smiles are entwining like magical serpents the poppies of lips that are opiate-sweet;
Their glittering garments of purple are burning like tremulous dawns in the quivering air,
And exquisite, subtle and slow are the tinkle and tread of their rhythmical, slumber-soft feet.

Now silent, now singing and swaying and swinging, like blossoms that bend to the breezes or showers,
Now wantonly winding, they flash, now they falter, and, lingering, languish in radiant choir;
Their jewel-girt arms and warm, wavering, lily-long fingers enchant through melodious hours,
Eyes ravished with rapture, celestially panting, what passionate bosoms aflaming with fire!

Rhyme can enhance the rhythm of a dancing poem. Maya Angelou keeps it short and sweet here, still giving us a vivid snapshot of the event.

Country Lover by Maya Angelou

Funky blues

Keen toed shoes

High water pants

Saddy night dance

Red soda water

and anybody’s daughter

Parallels are made between poets and dancers in these beautiful lines by Tonelius Oliver.

Poets Dance

Poets Dance in the heart of rhythms
Discussion spoken in the pen
Energy being tampered with in the music
Limitations rarely occur in audio-silence
Artist writes from the heart of rhythms
The Poets are dancing
Flaming hot ink drips from the pen
The paper it’s a sacrificial victim
It just seems to lay still
there’s no escape when the Poets Dance
Rhythmic heartbeats offset the confrontation
of clumsy feet
To tap dance on paper is a joy one must experience
to fully appreciate
It’s not for the faint-hearted

In the spirit of dance, today’s Poetics is wide open for interpretation. You must simply pen a poem to the theme of dance. Perhaps tell us about your first dance. Share with us a dance rooted in your culture. Use dance as a metaphor for life or romance. Delve into the emotions that dance evokes. Is there a significant memory you have that centers around dancing? Can you do the moon-walk? I’d love to know. Reflect on a dance production you attended. You can play with rhythm, rhyme, repetition, enjambment and line breaks to mimic the choreography of a dance if you choose.

So let’s hip-hop to it!

Here’s how to join in:

• Write a poem of any style in response to the prompt.
• Click on Mr. Linky to add your name and direct URL to your poem.
• Add a link to dVerse so that others can find us too.
• Read and comment on the work of others.
• Dance your way into the pub to say hello!

Elaine…..take us out.