Dance as a Bridge-Builder

I'm here at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia taking courses towards an MA in Conflict Transformation. In my class this week is a young man from Chechnya. He's been struggling to communicate and connect because his English is quite limited. I've watched him drift away from class conversations and small group discussions, quite exhausted from trying to understand what's being said for hours on end every day. My heart goes out to him; it's a lonely feeling to be surrounded by conversation you can't understand.

Tonight there was a dance in a park in downtown Harrisonburg, and I watched his face light up as he danced his way across the lawn several times with several different people. At last, he could feel connected to everything going on around him. His smile was pure joy, and his exuberance was contagious. He danced enthusiastically for every dance.

What a great reminder of how music and dance can connect us beyond language. I now want a bumper sticker that says, "Hoedowns for Peace."