The other night, my friends and I attended “Muestra de Baile” here on campus in which students from the university performed a variety of dances from around the world. For those of you from Valpo, this is similar to the spectacular Dance Ensemble put on every year.

The “Muestra de Baile” took the audience in a dancing journey that featured nine types of dance including salsa, folkloric, hip hop, Polynesian and more. It was fascinating to watch the dancers (mostly Mexican students with a few international students) as they swayed, popped and maneuvered their bodies to a variety of beats and rhythms.

I couldn’t help but think that the hip hop piece that had Mexican students dancing to the very contemporary (and very attractive) Usher was simply globalization in dance form. While there was a modern vibe to the program, it also featured traditional Mexican folkloric dance from Veracruz. The couple that did this particular piece wooed the crowd with delicate steps but with a certain richness that made me so happy to be living in this country. My particular favorite was the traditional African dance. The beats were so raw and pure and made the performance incredibly energizing as the dancers shook their bodies.

The “Muestra de Baile” exemplified that dance illustrates the beauty of cultures and tempts an individual to learn more about a culture. As we gaze on the dancer, our eyes take on their movements and physical interpretation of the music. Whether it is seductive moves of Polynesian dancing or the raw vibrancy of the African dancing, it stirs up a hidden (and sometimes unspoken) desire and energy inside our souls that inspires us to transfer that to our bodies.

This is the magic of dance. It inspires up to project energy from our souls to our bodies-if we allow ourselves to embrace it. Whether it is Polynesican, hip hop, the tango or whatever it may be, learn to dance. Allow rhythms and beats to transcend into your soul and into your beautiful body-it really is magical.