It’s been about a year since I’ve properly danced, and I’m a little rusty. I am not a professional dancer, by any means. I just love to dance; I always have. These videos are to encourage you to dance, in whatever capacity you can manage, to express yourself and to move your body, getting in touch with nature and with your own nature.

When I was a teenager, I would figure skate every night at the local rink (which was free, and outdoors, which was very cold). I was self-taught, watching the competitions on the television every Saturday. I would have loved to have had lessons, and also dancing lessons, but we were on a very tight budget. In later years, I started doing Flamenco, but after a month the teacher moved back to Spain! I then began belly dancing, and continued for 13 years. Now, as my arthritis is kicking in, I’m finding belly dancing hard on my hips, and so I’ve returned to dance in a freeform style. I love being outside, dancing to what I see around me, allowing the songs of nature to blend in with the music.

This piece seemed a fitting end to 2020, as there is hope in the world with the start of the worldwide vaccination programs, changes in government and the lengthening of sunlight during these cold winter months. It’s also a story of a personal journey through 2020. I hope you like it.

Music: “Moving Towards Fine”, by Amaranth Cove, via Epidemic Sound.