The Hidden Dancer

(Part of the Things You Don't Know About Me series of posts)


In another life I had a dream of being a dancer. I'd been a truck driver who yearned to do something with his life and so studied Creative Arts, which led to me turning up to Dance lectures on Thursday and putting in a hot sweaty day in leotards, showering and meeting up with my ex-truckie mates on Thursday afternoon. Thursday was payday and we all drank at the same pub in the Valley. I always changed the subject when they asked what lecture I'd been attending that day... in the early 80s you were always hesitant to mention wearing leotards in the pub we drank in.

I did reasonably well at dance - so much so that my lecturers tried to persuade me to continue on and complete my major in the art form (I had "good lines" apparently). Dance was a revelation - I discovered folk dancing - Greek, Irish, Japanese Miner's dances and then we looked at Pilobolus - the modern dance company that performed nude and pushed all sorts of boundaries, and Mummenshanz who moved between dance and mime and theatre in the late 70s and early 80s. Years later my friends Dave and Dani were performing with them Europe and were amazed that I knew more about them than they did - small world. 

Last week I mentioned to my co-workers I'd studied dance and knew what a grande jete was. They laughed. You would too if you saw me now. Somehow this body would look quite ridiculous pushed into my old leotards. A friend recently remarked male bodies age better than female bodies... I don't think so. Muscles have turned to flab and gravity is unflattering. And we won't even talk about hair growth. So my level of reveal only goes so far. All videotapes of past performances have been destroyed, photographs discarded and leotards burnt. ....but you'll be pleased to hear that the Dancer is just hidden below the surface, waiting to step out.


Burn brightly, Pete