Ode to Dance

I have been dancing for as long as I can remember. When I was a baby, my parents danced with me in their arms to soothe their ear infection-prone child. At four years old, I gave daily dance performances in the living room at home. At five, I began dance lessons, and eighteen years later I graduated as a professional dancer. Since then, I have dedicated my work to the art of dance and had the opportunity to bring the “living room at home” into an international context through touring performances in many countries.

I still remember the “Is this Superman?” dance in primary school, my first slow dance, the heat of the dance floor at clubs, dancing through heartbreak, my first dance audition, my first performance as a professional dancer, unexpected kitchen dancing with my closest people, the time I was injured and couldn’t dance, and how I used dance to get back on my feet. Dance has been my soul companion, a form of expression, physical exercise, and profession.

When I dance alone at home in the living room, I manage to forget time and place. The noise of everyday life fades and the stimulation lessens. I hear myself better, hear my body better. I feel the muscles, joints, veins, bones. My breathing changes, the blood flows faster, and the heart beats the rhythm. I let my body take control and my inner life sets off a wave of movement. Sometimes it’s slow and gentle, other days powerful and even fierce. I feel the stress releasing and tension easing. I merge with the universal flow and reach a deeper connection with intuition, creative power, the heart center, and the body. Everything becomes a little clearer, a little softer, a little more manageable.

When I dance with others, I feel a human connection. Rational thought takes a break and I step into a shared flow of bodies. Bodies with different experiences and stories. Bodies that hold deep wisdom and multilayered information. Bodies that the dance unites in this moment.

When I dance on stage, I experience a different kind of connection. I feel all senses become sharper, and I sense an empowering energy when I meet the energy from the audience. My energy and theirs merge and the artwork comes alive. Dance is a universal language that can touch minds and hearts across cultures. Each person has the freedom to interpret the work of art in their own way, based on their own experience and background. In this way, countless stories and countless connections are formed, weaving far beyond the theater.

I have personally experienced the magical power of dance and felt its transformative force. In my mind, dance is a healing power that can contribute to unity in a world where division is an increasing problem.

I wish for dance to become a greater part of all our lives. I wish for the world’s leaders to have the opportunity to dance as often as possible, thereby achieving a deeper connection with their intuition, conscience, compassion, and humanity—alone and with one another.

Above all, I wish for us all the freedom to dance, wherever and whenever.

May dance change the world for the better.

Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir