The first tweet @GurdeepPandher that I saw was from his little cabin in the Yukon. His bhangra dancing with abandon filled my heart with joy. For those of you that know me well, this will not surprise you. Dancing with abandon always fills my heart with joy. And so, I retweeted. And I have continued to retweet as he has danced his way around Canada through the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s danced in Nova Scotia, in Ottawa, with the Canadian Armed Forces, and to bagpipe music. The list goes on. And every time he dances, he makes me smile.
I am on the Board of Directors for Wild About Vancouver. Gurdeep has inspired the dream of people dancing their favourite dances outdoors throughout the Lower Mainland of Vancouver and tweeting it out @WildAboutVan. It would be brilliant. I am also back at school as principal of David Livingstone Elementary School. He has inspired the notion of teaching kids dances that they can do outside at recess and lunch. Socially distanced joy. Not a bad plan!
I went to Gurdeep’s website and was able to purchase and download music for bhangra dancing and sign up for an online dance class. AND I was able to do my first class this morning and talk to Gurdeep. He is just as lovely in person (which means on ZOOM in the COVID-19 world) as he is in his tweets. His direction:
Stand up straight and engage your core.
Shoulders back.
Chin up.
Express joy in your face, and happiness in your heart and soul, with a smile.
This is certainly one pathway to mental health and physical fitness. I certainly need more practice to coordinate moving my arms and legs in sync with the hops but then … joy on the playground and around the Lower Mainland. Thanks, Gurdeep!
Check out his site ( gurdeep.ca) and join the celebration and opportunity to, as Gurdeep puts it – “Have some fun in the chaos.”
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