…and then there was the Dance Party

Joy heals. And there it was, dancing in bright and living color on January 21st!

Arriving from the somber vigil in Monterey Park, and walking into the Monterey Park Star Ballroom Incident Survivors One Year Banquet was like being tossed into a delightful sea of celebration. What a powerful both/and moment - lively music, joyful dancing, and big smiles, AND the fact that this party was hosted by the survivors of last year's mass shooting. Whoa.

In the early months after the shooting, one of the survivors had said, “If we make it through this year, we will have a big celebration.” That’s exactly what they did. 

Theirs was a magnificent defiance. Proud and determined in the best way possible. The word “redemption” says it all: This was a night of buying back, of reclaiming, of intentionally celebrating life and the joy of dancing that was taken from them last January 21st. When they danced to a song that they'd danced to that very night 11 lives were lost, I didn’t know whether to cry or cheer. How healing it must have been to be out on the floor, dancing together again, in safety, to these songs and on this night, of all nights. It was a wonder to bear witness to new life unfolding right before my eyes as the survivors danced. And danced. And danced.

It took my breath away to witness such a beautiful and bittersweet evening.

….

Image: Red Morley Hewitt, for Unsplash