Every now and again, I end up playing a show where there aren’t any kids. There are few things more awkward than playing my Hullabaloo repertoire out of context. Last week I was hired to play two sets at a new venue. The first one went really well. The second set was almost devoid of kids.
The one saving grace was Brooke. I’m guessing that is about eleven years old – way older than my usual crowd but the only other audience members within earshot were bored-looking teens and adults hashtagging “#datenight” on their phones.
Brooke started dancing at the very first note of the very first song and didn’t stop for thirty minutes. She didn’t care that wasn’t Katy Perry or the Arctic Monkies. She just wanted to dance and so she did.
She made up dances to every song I played. She listened to the lyrics and choreographed in real time. After two or three songs, she started drawing a crowd. Bored-looking teens were paying attention and applauding her after every song. Hashtagging grownups looked up from their phones. Ten minutes in, I was convinced this was the best gig of my life.
It wasn’t that Brooke was the best dancer any of us had ever seen. It was the pure joy that she radiated. She didn’t seem to care either way if people were watching or clapping. She just wanted to dance and so she did.
When I grow up, I want to be like Brooke.