The incredulous grin of a returning dancer

I'm sure you've witnessed at least one, and maybe you've worn one yourself - the incredulous grin that a returning dancer wears as she/he rediscovers familiar music, movement, and the magic of dance after a hiatus of many years.

In my case, I drifted away from dancing as I got busy in college, and didn't reconnect until I moved to Portland fifteen years later. I had researched the scene here online, but didn't actually go until after chatting with a stranger next to me on an airplane. She said her daughter goes all the time and I should definitely go. When I turned up, the daughter welcomed me by name - what a lovely way to start dancing again! I'm told I was lit up like a beacon, I was so happy to be dancing.

If you had a hiatus in your dancing, what brought you back? What caused you to drift (or run) away in the first place? Is your group recruiting past dancers, and how is that working? Please share your stories!

Sonia

We had a returning dancer at our Friday group this week who hadn't danced in many years. He seemed too shy to grin openly, but he did give another dancer a huge hug when she came in (for the first time in six months). Apparently they danced together 'way back when. He knows another one of our regulars, too, although he wasn't there this week. Once a folk dancer, always a folk dancer!

He claimed not to remember much, but he caught on fast to new dances, and some of the old ones were still there - Jove Malaj Mome, Cekurjankino, Preskacanka. The joy was there, too, an understated radiance. He's going to be a great addition to the group.

Twice this week, I've emailed with a dancer elsewhere in the country via the EEFC list, and then spoken with someone in person who mentioned their city and turns out to know them. I love the interconnections in the dance community.

Sonia