**DRAFT**

This past week, I was briefly adopted by these beautiful people. I spent days being surrounded by their laughs, smiles, dances, music and culture. This has been one of the most impactful experiences of my life, because it has given me a very real glimpse into the original context that dance comes from. These are rituals, fires, fiestas, rites, something barely north of primal. It’s in our sangre and bones, as humans we cannot hide from dance any more than we can hide from our own reflections. When the drums resonate with your heart, don’t look away. It’s not about pretty, or perfect or structure. There is nothing unnatural here. In fact, it’s the most natural thing we have. Connecting to the earth, breathing the air, vibrating with the sun. It’s the rustling of the trees and the pounding of water, it’s sliding down mountains and sprinting through plains, planting food and carrying water. It’s all of this at once and more. Don’t get it twisted: long before you knew how to dance, you were dancing.