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The lights dimmed and the music with its backbeat was turned up. A hush came upon the audience and we all looked to the spotlit stage. Dancing out to the front of the stage was a young man whose age I could only guess to be in his early teens. His face was painted in white make-up with dramatic expressions and upon his hands were white gloves giving accent to his dark suit. He moved to the rhythm of the song while lip syncing the lyrics. Using his body, he gave full expression to the words he wanted to share as having great importance. I didn’t know the song but I recognized the idiom. A second young man joined him upon the stage and they danced in unison, each trying to express the deliberateness of our inner cry for love.
This precious gift of dance and expression is often referred to as “miming”. Thinking back on this performance draws my attention to how so many people “mime” their way through life in one way or another. Without words we express ourselves. I am sometimes tempted to spell out the obvious but this time I just want to leave the obvious for others to observe. With refreshed eyes, try looking at our neighbors, our loved ones and especially ourselves.
Written definitions of “miming”: To act out with gestures and body movement. To portray characters and situations by gesture and body movement. To ridicule by imitation; mimic. To express or describe something in actions or gestures without using speech.
