"Why do I dance? For years, I've been enjoying it -- studying
Middle Eastern dance (Turkish style), Rom dance (Indian, Turkish, and
Spanish), Central Asian dance, Persian dance, and Flamenco -- but I've
rarely thought about the why. Then I remembered the day my dance
changed. Someone had turned a switch on inside me. It was
the first time I ever saw an Uzbek dancer. She was so full of
grace and elegance, with gestures and facial expressions so beautiful
and subtle that to compare her to a flower would be too coarse and
crude. Not only was she so delicate (and yet full of restrained
strength), she spoke about every emotion without ever saying a word;
I understood her without a
need for translation.
Joys, worries, and sorrows know no
cultural boundaries. We are bonded
by those commonalities. Dance, for
me, strengthens those bonds of our
humanity, celebrating it,
validating it. I never learned that
dancer's name, but in a sense,
she is every dancer that has
ever danced."