“The International Dance Council (CID) at UNESCO has selected a beautiful poem on dance to celebrate Dance Day 2025. We extend our heartfelt wishes for a joyous and inspiring Dance Day to all the passionate dancers around the globe, united in our love for the art of dance!”

Kathryn Machan Aal: Oh she dances (for Carol Stewart)

Her red hair:  the tongue of a dragon –
she dances, oh she dances.

Sapphires glisten at her breasts and hips.

Goldspun satins rainbow to the floor.

She moves within them

in perfect symmetry of motion,

a woman who loves her own body

and will not compromise its power.

Her veil:  a beautiful blue mist

trailing her arms, blowing about her

as she turns with music,

smiles as music turns with her,

brass finger cymbals clashing.

Slow and then fast and then slow again

the goatskin drum summons

all that flows alive within her,

all that leaps from every nerve,

all that is strong

and unafraid of being strong.

Whirling, aglow in swirling color,

with flash of coins and singing bells,

she moves for us and for herself:

she dances, oh she dances.

***

Poem by Kathryn Machan Aal: Oh she dances (for Carol Stewart) .
Painting: Henri-Pierre Picou (France, 1824-1895): Dance of the veil. Painting, oil on canvas. 1872. 62 x 52 cm.