Nova Dance
“We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.”
—Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Nova loves to dance with family members, with Dada as acrobats, with Mama with grace, with Nana (me) untamed.
Nova also likes to watch dancers on YouTube and make up stories about them. From my collection of African dancers, Nova and I select what she calls "funny dance videos." Women and men of all shapes and sizes and mixes of race1 perform both in harmony and in their own style.
In one video, Nova labels dancers as members of her family, one as her mother “Bria,” one as her father “Jimmy,” and one as her brother “Raiden.”
While we watch, Nova doesn’t distinguish race or gender. Unrestrained with convention, tiny Nova took on the identity of an athletic and graceful dark-skinned man, as “me when I’m bigger.”
Her selection of her Bria, her Jimmy and her Raiden among the dancers align with her vision. “Bria” is beautiful, energetic, and graceful. “Jimmy” is handsome and athletic. And “Raiden” is the coolest, a man who dances and sings.
The “that’s me when I’m bigger” dancer interacts with the land beneath him, falling back on his hands, rolling, kicking his feet out, leaping to stand. Nova attempts similar moves. It’s easy to miss in an active toddler, but I’ll recognize a spin, jump and fall, roll onto her back, and attempt to jump to standing. I comment on her “that’s me when I’m bigger” dance, and Nova rewards me with her toothy grin.
In a feat of imagination, Nova has identified her Grandbear as one of the dancers. Gary finds this silly because he thinks he’s a terrible dancer. (I disagree) So far, perhaps because the granny-aged only smile and wiggle, there’s no "Nana" in these dance troupes. None dance the way Nova and I do.
In the videos, Nova recognizes movements she created to tell stories, such as lift up, the “twisty”, and “the crab” her “Jimmy” taught her, and the “quick step” Nova herself named early on. As we watch, Nova sits on my lap and wiggles the twisty, lifts her arms up, quick steps her legs and feet, and mimics the arm and hand movements of the dancers. Nova is surprisingly accurate in moving as they move yet makes it her own.
Since I started writing this article, Nova identified two women in another favorite video as her “Jimmy” and as her “Raiden” and a slender man as her “Bria.” I wasn’t surprised.
What fun it is to enjoy a peekaboo view of movement through Nova’s eyes.
Race is make-believe science. I use the term to evoke an image.