How Solo Living Room Dance Parties Brought Me Back To Myself
If someone walked into my living room on any given evening, they’d see a 30-year-old woman prancing around between the furniture in silence, and they’d probably turn heel and scarper.
Despite the scene presented, I haven’t completely lost my mind. In fact, this little ritual has actually helped me find myself again and keep a grasp on reality.
When I dance on my own, I escape into my own world. I become a performer on a stage, a Rockstar groupie, or the person I wish I was. No one can see me, I get to be invisible for a while and see what thoughts pop up.
Music Makes Up the Fabric of Our Being
Music has a unique ability to evoke the most unexpected emotions or unearth the memories we’ve buried deep. It’s different from reading a book or watching a movie. Music, whether we’re making it, listening to it, or playing it, is innate in our souls. It’s part of the very fibres of our beings. Primal.
There’s something special about silently belting out “Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson, feeling emotions swell from the depths of my soul, releasing things I’d been holding on to since I was a kid. The tears cleanse my soul and in under 4 minutes, I can move on to something else.
The best part is that there’s no telling which song will trigger which emotion. A power ballad could uncover feelings of unrequited love from our teenage years. A musical theatre belter could reveal a side of us we didn’t know existed.
Hell, an upbeat song like “You and Me Song” by the Wannadies can make you laugh or cry depending on the day as you bound around in front of the TV.
I know flailing around my living room isn’t actually therapy, nor is it a replacement for the steps I should be taking to heal my broken brain, but it does take the edge off.
In a country where mental health support is so incredibly difficult to come by, we have to find ways to deal with the soul-crushing doom that clouds our minds.
Solo dance parties do that for me. I’m sure it’s got something to do with endorphins and other happy chemicals, but it’s simpler to say that it just makes me feel good, even if I spend most of it crying.
Obviously, throughout all of this, I’m not actually dancing in silence, I have headphones on so I can unashamedly listen to the same part of a song over and over again, lip-syncing my heart out without my neighbours suspecting a thing!
A Coming Together of Ziggy & Star Dust
I suppose these dance parties don’t have to be solo. Dancing around your room with your best friend or your lover can be a transformative experience.
Experiencing the memories songs bring up for you, sharing in vulnerable moments, and seeing each other stripped down to our basic emotions is one of the most intimate things we can do.
Getting to know your partner as they continue to get to know themselves bonds you on a level deeper than knowing their favourite meals and colours.
Seeing each other in such vulnerable moments binds you together, a secret moment that no one else will ever experience. Like tattooing your love with invisible ink.
A hidden tapestry of your experiences sprawling out across space, time, and a worn living room carpet. Seamlessly marrying the cosmos and a generic new build box. It’s magic really.
If you’re feeling stuck, down, or bored of life, give a living room dance party a go! See where it takes you!
