If you were fortunate enough to have been able to buy a pair of tickets to the CHFI Oldies Dance, then you’ll no doubt be reading this blog over the weekend. Ditto if you won a pair. They’re not the easiest to come by. The dance is a Toronto tradition and always one of the hottest tickets in town. They usually sell out within the hour of them going on sale. For those of us not able to attend, I hope you’ll join me between 9 and 11 p.m. for a special dance invitation with Lovers and Other Strangers.
I’ve attended the event in years past when it was held on a Saturday night. Since the dance falls on a Friday this year, I’ll be live on the air and I’m looking forward to spending the evening with you.
If truth be told, I’m not a great dancer. The title of this blog is a pretty good description of what I’m like on the dance floor. I used to be a drummer in a fairly popular rock band many years ago. I was the one to set and keep the rhythm for those on the dance floor. It was no doubt due to that fact that I did not learn to dance well at an early age.
My wife is a great dancer. She can dance to just about any kind of music, and that has a lot to do with all the family functions she attended throughout her life. When she and I dance today, she’s usually the one to lead, except when it comes to a slow dance. That’s when I feel the most comfortable. But I still have to careful about not stepping on her toes. That said, I still take the lead getting her up to dance knowing how much she enjoys it.
Some years back, we attended my in-laws’ 50th wedding anniversary in Montreal. Both my children had a fabulous time on the dance floor. They will never suffer from the “two left feet syndrome,” from what I’ve observed. They were never self conscious. They were more than happy to join all the rest of the dancers and move to whatever music happened to be playing. I think that plays a big part in learning how to dance. That you throw caution to the wind and just let yourself feel the rhythm.
My wife and I picked a fairly slow song for our first dance at our wedding. We danced to Have I Told You Lately by Van Morrison. I watched my father-in-law dance with his daughter-my wife-that night, and wondered how I would be on some night in the future when I will no doubt dance at my daughter’s wedding. It’s a very special moment when the entire assembly gathers in a circle around the dance floor to watch this very traditional and intimate moment. When the music played and they began to dance, something very special happened between them. It was magic, pure and simple. Something very special happens when the father of the bride takes his daughter by the hand, and leads her to the middle of the dance floor for those few brief moments. I’m sure she remembers all the dances she has had with him through the years. He may have been the one to teach her to waltz. She might remember a little girl standing on daddy’s shoes as he taught her the intricacies of an Italian dance step from his past. She may even remember the look on his face when she came down the stairs in a beautiful gown, the night she was being escorted by a boy to the school prom. She probably remembers the way he comforted her when that same boy, or another, was no longer interested in dancing with her. I’m sure it’s moments like these that help to make her teary-eyed as she briefly dances with the man who has given her hope for her own marriage, the one she knows who won’t cry publicly, but will be a little misty-eyed when he sees her husband step in to carry on with the next dance.
I watched my wife and her father, and imagined some of those images going through both their minds. I watched as they exchanged a few words between them, but in all of our life together, would never intrude on the privacy of what they shared with each other. I often wonder what I will say to my daughter at that moment when I lead her to the dance floor. Besides being so proud of her at that moment, I wonder if I can say everything that has filled my heart about her from the past twenty or so years, during a brief three minute song, or whether words really need to be said, if they’ve been said out loud, and often, through all the years leading up to that time?
The day that I will be called to perform the same duty is still a long way off. Hopefully my wife will be able to give me a few more lessons before then.
Tonight I’ll play some of your favourites and we’ll see where the music takes us. So move the coffee table off to the side, put on your blue suede shoes or whatever you feel comfortable to dance in. Some people like to remove their shoes entirely. You just have to be careful that someone like me is not dancing nearby…
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Don Jackson
