Would that one should dance through the world of thought!
To view a dancer is to witness a transformation of the particular level of consciousness from the active to the receptive. For those who are impelled by certain rhythms, quite insteeped by them, the level of experience is transformed whereby the relationship between their consciousness and the outer world is attuned perfectly in a certain way.
When inspired it is very natural to young children to express themselves through dance movements. They respond readily with cheery disposition to an outer rhythm inciting and impelling a moving response. This need not be expressed in a sequence of differing notes: one note repeated - e.g. a banging of a drum or saucepan - is quite sufficient.
Many teenagers who experience extreme discontent with a somewhat painful consciousness in daily life, are happiest when given over to forms of dancing - which may or may not be inspiring on higher levels of expression, but nonetheless offer a condition in which they are most comfortable, and for a time alter their interactions with the world where they may instantly attune themselves to something totally rather than nothing, sufficiently. Many a teenager will try to hold back the world with loud music, and in measure by this, can achieve just that.
Primitive peoples perceived the motivation of dance to be a fulfilling reality. Within their communities such dances performed were held to be of greater importance to the whole, than any other activity. This form of interaction is for the native, a complete expression of partaking in life itself. If one were to seek communion with the Gods or Devas, they would dance. If one sought the assistance of the elements, they would dance. If calling for change, in healing or in war, they would dance. In ritual and celebration, in community and for manhood, they would dance. Dance to the native is not only an expression of life, but is life.
In many respects modern forms of dance are a corruption if not performed with inner recognition, but out of a clumsy rehearsed sequence- which if it was a book, would be written with numbers rather than characters, with no intrinsic meaning or interpretation to be had.
It could be said that the animal kingdom dances also. This can be defined as such, when in mating or hunting the animal or the bird performs rituals with a rhythm that has no directly perceived consequence on that which they are about to do. Prowling or prancing has no relationship to self-consciousness, in the case of the animal. An animal does not 'show-off', for that would be beyond its comprehension. The animal does however enter into certain dances which most certainly have cause and effect of themselves.
Within the Western world, ballet is held to be the highest expression of dance. One must question where the ballet has evolved from; also the attraction and pleasure of the awestruck audience, whereupon no direct interaction is required for the inspirations of movement to take effect.
The dancers weave a spell for the spirit of the onlookers, who moved inwardly by the music also, lend of themselves their consciousness to the performance, enraptured by the language of the movements.
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