Just Dance

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, once said that, “We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.” Today I had the delightful, unexpected pleasure of being invited to dance … literally. In his current curriculum of cultural studies in music, Mr. Pugh has collaboratively added dance to the academic menu! Today in particular, the focus was on Irish and Scottish dance. From the infusion of ancestral music, to the introduction of rich dance and harmonic vocabulary, the students literally “promenaded” their knowledge in kinesthetic wonder! Laughing, cantering, and creating space for turns and skips, the energy was as high as the engagement. Mr. Pugh has been and will continue to be commencing culture as they experience music and dance from countries across the globe. What a true joy to know that our children are learning to praise our great Creator through honoring and becoming familiar with the customs and characters of other nations. In this nation’s state of education, it is easy to become lost in our own complacency, placing value on only that which WE know or have been taught. But this innovative lesson is teaching students that there is more to life than meets our neighboring streets, and music is truly a work of heart, and transcending communication.
According to one of the 20th century’s leading Indian philosopher’s, Osho, “To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” I consider it nothing short of a blessing that Mr. Pugh is crossing music curriculum with cultural studies, and is inherently teaching our students to find value in all life. Today was a beautiful reflection of integrated learning, and loving the life we are graced to dance through. Raquel Harris [email protected]