It can be tempting to think of human beings as living lives of either mind or body. Or it can feel like the interior life is the true and real life, while the body is just a container for the brain. This is an especially understandable reaction to being physically awkward—sloppy, imprecise—when your mind is comparatively agile. No wonder so many of us find dancing a daunting prospect. The idea of moving not just for prosaic reasons like transport, or for the satisfaction of athletic achievement, but purely for joy, for artistry, for abandon—what could be more repulsive for the inwardly inclined? There’s a reason that, so often, people only dance when drunk, at times of high drama and high intoxication like a wedding. This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-six Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 19 Going Incognito We all secretly wonder what mischief we’d make if invisible: When our identity is hidden, everything seems possible. Arts & Culture Issue 19 The Best Policy Sometimes we talk to each other without feeling heard. Honesty—a most intimate interaction—can be just as thrilling as its more devious inverse. Arts & Culture Issue 19 A Sense of Suspense With unhinged imaginations and mountains of cliff-hangers, the filmmakers behind the sci-fi podcast Limetown have all the makings of a scary story. Arts & Culture Issue 19 Like Clockwork In this new column about time, we learn how slipping off our watches makes us feel like deadline-damning renegades. Fashion Issue 19 The Heat of the Moment Wide eyes, tense muscles, goose-bumped skin and sweat-dotted brows. Arts & Culture Music Issue 19 On a Grander Scale Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna now may live on the opposite side of the globe, but she’s determined to evolve while staying true to her roots.
Arts & Culture Issue 19 Going Incognito We all secretly wonder what mischief we’d make if invisible: When our identity is hidden, everything seems possible.
Arts & Culture Issue 19 The Best Policy Sometimes we talk to each other without feeling heard. Honesty—a most intimate interaction—can be just as thrilling as its more devious inverse.
Arts & Culture Issue 19 A Sense of Suspense With unhinged imaginations and mountains of cliff-hangers, the filmmakers behind the sci-fi podcast Limetown have all the makings of a scary story.
Arts & Culture Issue 19 Like Clockwork In this new column about time, we learn how slipping off our watches makes us feel like deadline-damning renegades.
Fashion Issue 19 The Heat of the Moment Wide eyes, tense muscles, goose-bumped skin and sweat-dotted brows.
Arts & Culture Music Issue 19 On a Grander Scale Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna now may live on the opposite side of the globe, but she’s determined to evolve while staying true to her roots.