Everybody dance now! It’s the law!
OK, it’s not the law but it is official. National Dance Day, Saturday, Sept. 19, was established in 2010 in a resolution introduced by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), saluting dance as a form of both exercise and artistic expression.
National Dance Day originally was held in July but was changed to the third Saturday in September in 2019. This was good news, especially for dancers in warmer climes, because it’s difficult to let the rhythm get ya when the heat is trying to melt ya.
You can celebrate Dance Day passively – there are plenty of movies about dance from The Red Shoes to Step Up. Anything with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers is a good bet.
Or, you could go the active route by, you know, dancing. We would be remiss, though, if we didn’t warn anyone planning to dance like no one’s watching that someone actually will be watching. And judging you. Harshly.
In fact, a big-deal Dance Day event also involves dancing and judging. The Red Bull Dance Your Style USA National Final takes place on Dance Day at the Tampa Convention Center. Sixteen street dancers will compete to win the title for the U.S. and to travel to Zurich to compete in October’s world finals.
This is sure to feature some amazing moves as the dancers try to capture first prize, although it also could be a little intimidating for the less rhythmically-inclined.
But hey, it’s Dance Day! Dance Day is for everyone, whether they’re competing for a national title or tripping over their two left feet.
Dance! Dance to your heart’s content, even if your dancing has been compared, unfavorably, to that of Elaine Benes. Even if you can’t find the beat with GPS and an atlas. Need more inspiration? Popular music has offered so very many ways and reasons to dance. You could dance in the streets. Dance in the sheets. Dance in the dark. Dance in the ruins. Dance in the moonlight. It’s caught you in its spotlight.
Dance with the devil. Dance with Mr. D. Dance yourself to death. Dance with tears in your eyes. Dance your troubles away. Dance just as good as you walk. Dance with somebody (who loves you). Dance to the music. Dance with your father. Dance with yourself. Do NOT park on the dance floor. Dance, little sister, dance.
Crown a dancing queen. Do the Tennessee Waltz. Do the twist. Twist again like we did last summer. Do all 16 dances (camel walk, shy tuna, etc.). Visit the Land of 1,000 Dances. Tour packages available. Ask about our senior discounts.
You can dance so get into the groove. Be a maniac, a maniac, on the floor. What a feeling. Boogie. Boogie woogie. Boogie oogie oogie ‘til you just can’t boogie no more. Ride the groove line. Make like Lola at the Copacabana. Square dance. Round dance. Triangle dance. Tango. Limbo. Pogo. Just dance.