Dance Like Nobody’s Watching

By:  Jeremiah Wayne

Ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you that I don’t take that title as a joke. There is something about the rhythm that just makes me want to move my feet! I have never met a group of people in my life that all feel comfortable enough to have fun doing things they are terrible at. It’s not to say that all of Gatton can’t dance, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that we weren’t a dancing academy. Regardless of our dancing ability, most all of us got out on the dance floor at least once and had a great time.

Even when it seemed that the dance wasn’t meant to work out – the lights wouldn’t turn out, the speakers were too small, the music was without a playlist – The Gatton Academy persisted and persevered. We taped construction paper to the lights, we gathered all our speakers together, and we all took turns choosing songs.

I remember my junior year adventure week dance. I had never danced before. I was content with being one of those who just sit on the sidelines and watch. I didn’t want to risk the embarrassment of looking silly in front of all my new peers. But after a while, I realized that there were others just like me who were not very good at dancing, one was even doing jumping jacks! With the encouragement of a few, I made those crucial first steps out on the dance floor. At first I kept it simple: step to the left, step to the right. Then I began to sing along. And before you knew it, my hips were moving in directions that I didn’t know was possible! I did a little jig, a shimmy followed by a head-roll, threw in some footwork and added some special “Jerry” jazz. By the end of the next couple dances, I had a “Jerry Dance” fan club! Of course most were not watching because they were impressed, but at the same time, I don’t feel they were laughing at me, rather with me. And that sort of environment is hard to come by.

I could tell that the juniors felt the same way as I did when I was in their place, which is why I am proud to say that at one point in time I didn’t see a single person standing against the wall too shy to dance. Who knows, maybe there is a “Jerry” protégé in the works…