THERE has always been a huge aperture in my marriage. I never danced with my wife. Dancing with my wife is one of the dearest requests I have made upon life, and at my age it doesn’t look like it will be fulfilled. I simply cannot dance; not even a few elementary steps. I look like a monkey and a donkey when I attempt a dance floor move.
One of the things I regret dearly in life is not dancing with my wife to Love’s Theme by the Love Unlimited Orchestra conducted by Barry White. This is my all-time favourite song beating out the Kishore Kumar and Bob Marley tunes I love. It is unique arrangement. The strings interlace with large guitars and it is fascinating how they alternate while resting on the disco rhythm. There is nothing I want more in this life than to dance Barry White’s Love Theme with my wife.
When I saw the moves of President Ali at the PPP congress, I envied him. That gentleman can dance. I guessed it came easily to President Ali because he has a light personality as part of his persona. His rhythmic manoeuvres will always be remembered by the people of this country for a long time to come because it was unique and it came from a unique leader of this country.
I had no idea that President Ali would have danced for his party members at the congress when I wrote my Sunday article on him. I did mention in that column that he is a fun guy with a touch of lightness about him. And there it was; at the congress he showed his multi-dimensional personality.
The same, “damn if you don’t, damn if you do.” Irfaan will have his detractors no matter what he does. It is life. Life is that. Once you know it is like that, then, you carry on with your life and ignore the haters. It is silly to criticise the president for doing a short dancing skit for delegates at his party congress.
In all seriousness, how can someone see that in a negative light? He was at a private function, enjoying a private moment. It went viral but that does not take away his right to retire his suit and tie, and exist outside the context of the presidency. He is entitled to that right.
Many presidents and prime ministers have danced the way President Ali did at private events like weddings and birthdays, and the attendees just stop and look at the leader of their country dancing. This is a common occurrence so what is the fuss about the president dancing at his party congress?
The Prime Minister of Finland had a maddening escapade on the dance floor in which there was talk of drug use. The Finnish people could not have been bothered with what she did. She currently holds a big position in the institute run by former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
I met a gentleman on the seawall last Thursday evening. He identified himself as Professor Parboodyal Singh from York University. He didn’t take too lightly to people criticising the president for his dancing so he asked me what I thought. I simply said that we live in the West Indies and he agreed. When the West Indies won the World Cup, sections of the British press wrote that the celebrations were too wild and over the top.
They do not say those things about soccer teams in Europe and basketball teams in the US. In that context, we should be careful in our criticism of the president’s dance moves because we could be pandering to the racial stereotyping Western media have of Third World people. Do you know there is a video of Nelson Mandela dancing and his gyrations were good?
Where did this criticism come from that something was wrong with the president doing a jig last Sunday? What went through the minds of people to arrive at such a thought? For me, when I saw it, I instantly said that this is Caribbean culture alright. But what is irritating about it is because what President Ali did was not something unusual in world leadership.
Again, I stress that presidents and prime ministers have danced just like President Ali did at private functions and the examples are countless and cut across continents. I liked his performance last Sunday. He continues to show Guyanese that he is a man of the people. I end with a request to him. Teach me to dance. I want to dance Love’s Theme with my wife ASAP!
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
