Amy Lu's View

Mark Twain said the famous “Dance like nobody’s watching…” quote? Really?!

I’ve heard this inspirational exhortation a million times, and just assumed it was an anonymous and rather cheesy feel good saying invented by a marketing team to put on coffee mugs and wall hangings. Not that it doesn’t have merit. In fact, I Googled it because I wanted to make sure I had the quote correct to use in this blog post (which yes, is going to be about dancing). 

“Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth.”

-Mark Twain

But Mark Twain said it? Okay, I haven’t put my librarian powers to rigorous use on this one so maybe my Googling isn’t accurate, but it certainly seems the case. Wow, this does not seem like a Mark Twain saying to me (not that I’m a Mark Twain expert or anything but…)

Well, wherever the advice to “Dance like nobody’s watching” comes from, I’ve been doing it every day for the last month, since January 13. And it’s been easy to dance like nobody’s watching, because nobody IS watching. 

I’m not sure why I started what I now consider my Daily Dance Break, except that I’ve been thinking for the longest time that I should do more dancing. This has especially popped into my head as I’ve been spending so much more time at home during the pandemic, and I’m sure I’ve been inspired by hearing and reading about others dancing in their kitchen. 

I definitely do not consider myself a good or confident or graceful dancer (especially when it comes to something that’s choreographed). I’m not a particularly expressive or creative dancer or sexy dancer. But, I enjoy it, as I suspect most people do, or would, if they weren’t worried about how goofy they looked while dancing. 

So I make sure to dance around our dining room or living room or through our kitchen when I’m alone (except at times when StanLee is present). Sometimes I crank up the speakers; sometimes I put on my earbuds and sequester myself in my home office/spare bedroom. 

But…even though no one else is watching, I’m often still watching and judging myself. So I try very hard to focus on the music, and how I want to move to it, no matter how silly or simple my dancing may be. I try not to worry about “getting exercise” and just moving and being grateful for the ways my body can move. I try not to think about whatever else I should be doing. It’s as close as I get to a type of meditation.

My hope and goal is to dance to one song every day. (Sometimes I have an “bonus” song). So far, I want every day to have a different song which I’ve been tracking in a spreadsheet (although my bonus song could be a repeat).

Picking a song can be tricky. There are so many classic songs I love that have special personal meaning for me, but I want to expand my musical horizons, too. I don’t want to just be on a nostalgic kick. Plus, I tend to gravitate toward the singer-songwriter genre which isn’t necessarily the most conducive to dancing. 

Sometimes, I want to pick a song to fit a certain mood or a theme or a holiday or something timely. 

My very first song was a classic, “Rock Me Tonight” by Billy Squire. I think I got the idea because Billy Squire had recently come up on our beloved TBTL podcast. Recently, I discovered The Current has a “Music You Should Know” list which has definitely invigorated my Dance Breaks and helped me discover some new music. 

I don’t want to get too worked up about how long I will keep up my Daily Dance Break streak, but right now I’m pretty committed to it. Currently I have four daily routines/practices/rituals (not counting those related to eating or drinking): cardio exercising, journaling, Wordle and the Daily Dance Break. I really like having my small goals and challenges–they give me structure and a sense of accomplishment. 

I’m tempted to blog about my daily Dance Break Song choices, but not only do I not have time for that, that seems a little obsessive, even for me. Maybe I’ll occasionally blog about some highlights. 

I’ll just focus on making time (and energy–yes, sometimes I do feel tired to dance, even to a singer songwriter tune) to dancing to at least one song every day. 

Like nobody’s watching.

Or, better yet–like several people ARE watching but they unconditionally think I’m a talented and graceful and beautiful and sexy dancer. Even if I mostly hop and flail my arms and toss my head and generally dance like a muppet. 

1/13/22	Rock Me Tonight	Billy Squier
1/14/22	Hollywood	Carseat Headrest
1/15/22	Skinny Love	Bon Iver
1/16/22	Many Times	Dijon
1/17/22	A-Flat	Black Violins
1/18/22	Deacon Blues	Steely Dan
1/19/22	The Less I Know The Better	Tame Impala
1/20/22	Stolen Car	Beth Orton
1/21/22	Man on the Moon	R.E.M.
1/22/22	Something I Should Do	Nada Surf
1/23/22	Be Here Now	Mason Jennings
1/24/22	Werewolves of London	Warren Zevon
1/25/22	She’s A Rainbow	Rolling Stones
1/26/22	Now is the Time	Jade Bird
1/27/22	Myriad Harbor	The New Pornographers
1/28/22	Stand for Myself	Yola
1/29/22	Ten By Ten	Rex Orange County
1/30/22	Stay Positive	The Hold Steady
1/31/22	They Called It Rock	Nick Lowe
2/1/22	Year of the Tiger	St. Vincent
2/2/22	Write a List of Things To Look Forward To	Courtney Barnett
2/3/22	Feel the Way I Want To	Caroline Rose
2/4/22	Year of the Cat	Al Stewart
2/5/22	Strange Girl	Laura Marling
2/6/22	Softly	Arlo Parks
2/7/22	Running Up That Hill
2/8/22	Atoms Never Die	Adam Levy
2/9/22	Enough	Samm Henshaw
2/10/22	Rhododendron	Hurray for the Riff Raff
2/11/22	Steppin’ Out	Joe Jackson
2/12/22	Passengers	Aoife O’Donovan
2/13/22	More Pressure	Kae Tempest
2/14/22	Love is the Law	The Suburbs
2/15/22	Don’t You Forget About Me	Simple Minds