Hard Times Require Furious Dancing

A core of passionate people initiated a monthly event to provide space for people to live freely and authentically. Maggie Sky, yoga teacher at Roots and Wings Healing Arts, and Carolyn Waters, music director of the Common Street Spiritual Center, along with many collaborators, organize an event called Hard Times Require Furious Dancing, which will be offered next on November 15 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Common Street Spiritual Center.
At the event, the sanctuary is cleared for dancing in subdued lighting. Participants are invited to stand in a circle, and then, as the rhythm of the drums or Carolyn’s resonant vocals moves them, they may begin to dance... like no one is watching.
“People can dance,” Carolyn said. “People can pick up the instruments that are available. People come and they do what feels right to them. Come and stand on the sidelines. You can lay down and take part in the sound bath. You can participate without dancing.”
There is a meditation element and an interactive art installation by Virginia Fitzgerald. There are snacks and oracle cards. Maggie said, “It’s about your place in the world. Come to terms with what is going on with your body and emotions.”
The author Alice Walker invited friends and family to a dance hall one Thanksgiving “to dance our sorrows away, or at least to integrate them more smoothly into our daily existence.” In her book of poems, Hard Times Require Furious Dancing, published in 2010, she wrote, “Though we have all encountered our share of grief and troubles, we can still hold the line of beauty, form, and beat — no small accomplishment in a world as challenging as this one. Hard times require furious dancing. Each of us is the proof.” This description has inspired many groups to start dancing together in community. Maggie, Kat Suwalski, and Guerda Victor visited one such group, the I Opener event in Cambridge, and wanted to bring that type of opportunity to Natick.
“It’s for anyone,” Maggie said. “Some people are taking the risk to come try it.”
A monthly event since its inception in March at Roots and Wings, Furious Dancing moved to a larger space at Common Street in May. In the process of attuning to the new space and to the vital dynamics, the creators modify aspects of the event according to participant response. “We very much value the feedback we get,” Carolyn said. “People are not shy. It’s always good feedback in the sense of being constructive.” Much of that feedback is gratitude. “People come up to me and say, ‘I so needed this,’” Carolyn said. “You never know what people are bringing in. No matter who you are, you can feel safe expressing.”
While Carolyn and Maggie plan the event, many others contribute to its generation with poetry, drumming, music, healing arts, envisioning, and enthusiasm. “There’s a dance right there with the collaboration,” Maggie said. Every person who comes is part of the collaboration and an instrument of expression in a personal and communal way. “It’s a microcosm,” Maggie said, “where you make choices of who you want to be. It’s a space to feel or not feel. You get to choose and play it out however you want.”
“When I finish one of these,” Carolyn said, “I think, this is how I want to feel all the time. I want to feel in touch with people. I want to feel open and know people care about me. When the challenges come, I can insert this into the challenges.”
From a moment of free movement can spring lasting personal and collective change. “High lofty goals can actually be achieved through music, movement, and song. These are important things,” said Carolyn. “The magnitude of change that is possible is huge.”
Hard Times Require Furious Dancing traveled to Provincetown for Inspiration Weekend Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. The festival started on a Friday evening when participants sat and listened to music. At the Furious Dancing event on Saturday morning, even the band left the stage and danced in the aisles. “Nobody sat down the rest of the weekend,” said Carolyn. “We give permission. That’s sometimes all it takes.”
Maggie added, “Even when times are hard.”
The organizers request a donation of $20 to subsidize the artists. Roots and Wings offers free advertising and food, and Common Street provides space.