what dance is for me
-Paul Rother

dancing goes through stages
ive been dancing with Jo and Michael on Sundays 14 months now
ive gone through a lot of stages

i had been divorced 3 years
post divorce i tried connecting with different groups of people
hadnt really connected, they were too young, too old, 
too crazy, not crazy enough, etc.

i heard about Jo and Michaels
but i did not understand why people would dance in the middle of the day
and also did not understand why in a fencing center
but after more than a few people who i ran into mentioned it
i decided to give it a try

it was a hot, a very hot august day when i first when
i walked in, not knowing, a little scared
Michael greeted me with open arms
explained that this was time for free form warmup,
then led exercises would start at noon
i felt ok, relax already

a song that i had been playing at home came on
Let The Sunshine In / Aquarius - Baz Lerman remix
i felt at home
later i did not have a partner, Jo danced with me
and it felt good, i found a home

first it was a place to move
and the music was good too

then i started to meet women,
and i liked that

i let the women lead
cause i was not a good dancer
but i did look at my partners in the eyes
and they liked that

then i went on the October retreat
thats when i got to know a number of men
and that felt good, in a deep kinda way

and then i felt like i had more men friends than woman friends
and that was good

i find it easier to play with the men in the group,
than the woman,
cause it might get taken the wrong way by a woman
and i dont want to make anybody feel weird
but with the men, its not a big deal
and i like playing





i started to feel my dad's energy there
in many ways

first aspect
he was into goin to church on sundays
he connected with the group energy
he would go on retreats

second 
he was a dancer in his later years
as a member of Liz Lermans, Dancers of the Third Age

and lastly 
as the photographer energy coming out in me
i started taking pictures, which was 100% him

and on top of all that i danced like him
a flowing sorta dance
but i also got into staccato, 
which he must of had in him all along
but was too old to really let it out in his 60s and 70s

often i yell in class
this also connects me to with dad
he was here in LA visiting once
he was walking in venice, something he loved
and these two guys saw him, an old man
and mugged him
i got the call and picked him up right away
they took his wallet
but when they tried to take his camera
he yelled and they instantly ran away
he had learned to yell in his dance and was good at it!
i had noticed that i could not yell so well
and am glad i have a place i can practice my yelling now
btw, someone found his wallet and he got it back




dance can be a lot of things to different people
after a while
i saw that many things in life are a dance
sometimes pushing, sometime relaxing
like breathing, waiting and then going

these days i lead some of the time
and follow the lead other times

and i see that dance is a conversation
"may i have this conversation with you my dear?"
i watch the others body, then i say a few things myself

mostly, its just plain fun for me
thats the important part

lately ive been paying attention to the energy pulls
i do not understand this aspect right now
but i am observing it, and going with it
very clear that some people pull me right in
and i start dancing with them
other times i seen someone from across the room
and said to myself, no, not them, too much
and then sure enough we float towards each other
until we have a powerful expressive loud conversation

mostly i still look into the others eyes
verifying that this person is dancing with me
but im learning to trust this higher energy
and not so important to keep the gaze




for me
and i think a lot of the people i talk to
what this is really about is community
i have found my community

sometimes i feel so lucky to have found this community
and other time i do not know why it took so long
as it was just a matter of time

im happy to put the energy into getting this 
website going as i see it as an important part of the community

i have been active in a couple of online burning man communities
and its a good thing

for the dance community its a good way to get to know people
who you may otherwise just know by face
(i encourage you all to post photos, 
so we can connect faces with names with essences)

i have a lot of fun
i enjoy dancing with new people
and i just wish i had time to make love with everyone i meet
often a whole sunday goes by and i dont even say hello
to many of the people i love

who knows what is in store for me in the next stage





ok thats my little statement

ps my dads name is Charlie Rother (1920 - 1996)
and my sons name is Harley Rother (1988 -     )

Charlie is there every week, smiling above us, pullin my strings
Harley is there only if hebrew class is not happening
and its my week and there is absolutely nothing else for him to do