Living in a hotel room severely limits your options for distractions. Movies have become the background drone I rely on to cover the distracting, and startling noises created by some other guests. Normally, movies serve as white noise, but one failed miserably. Guardians of the Galaxy sucked me into Peter Quill’s world, and I watched both Guardian movies and put Footloose into the queue.

Before I realized what was happening, I launched a quest for some of the best dance movies ever filmed. The hunt sucked me into the late 70s to mid-80s with “Flash Dance,” “Saturday Night Fever,” “Grease,” “Dirty Dancing,” “Risky Business,” and the cult favorite, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Talk about a time warp. I next swung into the 30s to visit dance icons Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ mesmerizing moves in Top Hat.

What is it about dancing that automatically lifts your mood? It seems silly that a little toe-tapping, moving your feet, and twirling around to the “Sound of Music” can make you smile like a fool. Whatever the cause, I think it is the reason we have viewed the Gene Kelly clip from “Singing in the Rain” almost 30 million times.

Peter Quill is right. Dancing IS the greatest thing there is.

What is your favorite dance scene?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer