If I was on So You Think You Can Dance...

...I would be there to show America that, really, everyone can dance.

I just watched last week's episode of SYTYCD (busy week), and there was a montage of the people who made it all the way through to the very end. During the montage, there were clips of speeches that people made about why they wanted to be on the show. Everyone had a reason, some were unique reasons, some weren't, but everyone has a reason to dance.

I heard one reason from a girl who said something along the lines of "my journey just can't end here, it has to continue." Well, there's no reason it can't end, and she really has no control over whether it does or not. But no matter what her decision is, the journey doesn't end with the decision of a panel of judges from a TV show.

Dance, obviously, is a huge part of all of our lives. If you're reading this, it's a part of your life that you love or can't live without, or both. Not only is it a large part of our lives, but it's a large part of every person's life. This idea has been touched upon many times during this show, but it made me believe it even more when I saw this little girl dance after her mom on the show a couple weeks ago (is it just me or was she really good?):

Photo Credit

All people dance. From ancient tribes in Africa to Victorian halls in old England, people have always used dance as a universal and basic form of communication and expression. Tribal dances are a ritualistic part of religion, ballroom dances were social experiences and an indication of class and intelligence, classical Indian dances have passed down intricate stories for generations, and today, "So You Think You Can Dance" is showing America and the world that dance is diverse, alive, and an intimate part of our beings.

I've always thought the title of "So You Think You Can Dance" was kind of misleading. The best dancers, who "think they can dance," aren't always the ones who win the show. And the winners of the show are not necessarily the ones who go on to make the biggest impact on the world (tWitch? Travis Wall? Both runners-up.). If I somehow made it on any part of SYTYCD and had the opportunity to speak to the judges, cameras, and America, I'd make a point of saying that I think "dancers" are really just an extension of what lives inside every human soul. We "dancers" just channel the urge to move more than "non-dancers." Everyone dances, whether it be in a club, at a party, before the New Year's Kiss, or (in my case) in the living room while your mother plays piano.

So all I really want to say is this: If you can talk, you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance (Zimbabwe proverb). And if you can dream, you can make a difference.