Dance Queen

Mark Twain said, “Dance like no one is watching…”. And I do. Even when people are. When I dance, I am my most authentic self. I move, bounce, glide on any surface whether it be wood, linoleum, carpet, rock-like, of cement. My first introduction to dance would appear outside in the streets of my Baltimore City neighborhood in Sandtown. As a young child, I would participate in all types of outside activities. Some of them involved dancing to neighborhood songs. I’m not sure where the songs originated but they were from an oral tradition which were passed down from many generations. Songs with dance steps like included “Is this the way you Willoughby”, “Here comes the Dukes a Riding, and many more. I’ve taught my children and grandchildren these dances and I hope they go on forever. Contact me, and I’ll teach them to you too. Here are the lyrics:

Is this the way you Willoughby?

Is this the way you Willoughby, Willoughby, Willoughby?

Is this the way you Willoughby all night long?

Oh, step back Sally, Sally, Sally

Step back Sally all night long

Here Comes the Duke ‘A Riding

Here comes the duke ‘a riding, riding, riding

Here comes the Duke a Riding all night long

Well, what is he riding here for, here for, here for?

What is he riding here for?

A rasima tassima tissa ma tee

He’s riding here to get married, married, married

He s riding here to get married

A rasima tassima tissa ma tee

Well, who do you think will have him, have him, have him?

Who do you think will have him?

A rasima tassima tissa ma tee

We think Miss (girl in neighborhood) will have him, have him

We think miss will have him

A rasima tassima tissa ma tee

Introduced to dance in such away allowed me to participate socially alongside other children without a care in the world. Because dancing in freeing. As a shy preteen, I remember dancing in my older married sister’s living room to soundtracks from various movies. They lived in the duplex apartment attached to my parent’s home. I always hid from the public eye and played the vinyl LP records that belonged to my sister's husband when they weren't at home on Saturday afternoons. I knew that my dreams of becoming a professional or even an amateur dancer on stage would probably not be realized. I was too shy and any rough talent that I thought I had wouldn’t be developed because I was never brave enough to get my mother to sign me up for dance lessons. As I matured into womanhood, I continued to shy away from social activities involving dance. Sure, I remember going to a lot of parties in my youth. Some of the parties you had to pay an entrance fee based on the size of your waist. The inches would determine how much you would have to pay. The host or hostess of the party would have one of those yellow measuring tape to greet you at the door. Those parties were a lot of fun, but I still was not brave enough to dance in front of my peers. Years later I finally gathered up enough courage to participate in the activity that I loved from early childhood. I was in my early 20s and was invited to a frat party with a few of my friends from work. Most of the guys at the party will stand around holding up the walls. Some would ask other young ladies to dance. I was never one of the women who got asked. After oh wow, I decided that I wouldn't no longer wait for someone to ask me I walked over to the dance floor and dance by myself it was so freeing to dance without a care in the world. It didn't matter who was watching. I enjoyed the music and the movement. And when the song ended, I knew that I had stepped into my inner dancer and that I would never be afraid to be who I was, ever again.