Pivot: A Re-imagined dance

Beyoncé’s “Already” is blasting through the speakers, while the TikTok compilation of the accompanying dance routine is being shown on the screen.  As a lover of the Afrobeat, I am already mirroring perfectly the routine – except only in my head!

I am Jamaican; dance is in my blood…. right?

There is no one else more convinced than me that the routine is mine to conquer, so I rise from the sofa with the level of confidence to be matched by Beyoncé herself only to quickly discover, not so much!  Of the 10 different movements that make up the choreographed 30-seconds routine, I was only able to do 3 – and that’s pushing it a bit.  Even with the 3 I was able to grasp (because of their ole time referencing), for the life of me, I was unable to smoothly transition from one move to the next.  Evidently, choreographed dance is not my thing. The problem is that my brain and my ability to actually execute do not reconcile.  So, instead of cancelling my desire to dance, I re-imagined the routine, and I put my own 80s and 90s twist to it by adding a butterfly or two, a della move,  a few pon di river, and a tatty, thereby making it more flavorful and more to my liking (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).

All’s well in my dance world!

What was gained you may ask?  Aside from providing comic relief to the offspring, I was delighted with myself for having gotten up and trying.  Further, having realized my resources were limited (hand, foot and eye coordination), I pivoted, and incorporated something new – something more aligned with my capabilities.   

Morale of the story (cause every weh u tun, lesson deh deh fi learn):  

• Everything that we want to achieve exists in our mind before it can exist in actuality, but we can’t know what it requires to execute and achieve our desires if we remain seated on the couch day-dreaming about the what-ifs. 

• Once we get up and try, we may find that we have to taper our dreams just a bit to fit our specific expertise and where we are at in our lives at the time.

• Also, while the idea for something may come from one source, we are encouraged to adjust to suit a different niche, based on our own unique offerings.

• So, get up and dance… the way YOU know how, and everything else WILL fall into place. 

• Ignore the idle chatter that may criticize your efforts/routine, and focus on those who support the movements.

How many desires of the heart have we had to cancel, because we wanted to utilize those resources not available to us?  The pandemic has forced many of us to re-imagine the steps that we take – to recreate a new normal without the comfort of the many things that were once available to us.  Just like my dance routine, we have to pivot, regroup, and re-imagine new steps in order to fulfill those desires of our hearts.

Ok… lemme go back to my re-imagined routine…. In the meantime, you may check out the original, and dance today!