I was fortunate enough tonight to see a local dance troupe here in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. They performed Veracruz folk dances in the style called Jarocho. My heart lifted watching the men and women dance together. The men were enjoying the dancing, deep into it and grooving. The women, so strong and powerful, were flinging their very feminine lacey skirts around with strength and style and grace. And the flirting! They performed the dance just as it is supposed to be – a courtship. The couples looked into each others’ eyes, the men firmly held the women’s waists, and the women sent smoldering glances under their eyelashes. When the men danced, the women cheered them on. When the women danced, the men cheered them on. And when they danced together, they whistled and shouted.
The jarocho style has a lot of banging on the heels, and I began to see how that sound was a like a drumbeat, like the zills , like shimmies – that it raised a sweet serpent of energy that whirled around the dancers and encompassed us, the audience.
I had tried to stand up on the balcony so that I could get a better view to film, but I ended up on the floor right in front of the dancers. And that is the best way to appreciate this dance. It pulled me in and danced me around. It made me think of why I love the dance gigs at Solstice Café or any of these other places where we dance right there at eye level with the audience – because it is less of a performance and more of a sharing, a drawing in. Tonight I was breathing with the dancers, my heels tapping away, feeling the sweetness as they looked at each other in this dance of courtship. It was ecstatic. I had begun the evening tired, and now I was energized, smiling, full of heart. I hope that is how people feel when they watch us dance.