Dance Like Cyndi Lauper

I had the privilege of getting to see Cyndi Lauper as an added bonus to Cher's concert the other night.

I am not as familiar with Cyndi, as I am with Cher but she definitely has a list of tunes that are part of my music history and I could feel the tug of old memories surfacing right along with her act.

Cyndi is not as flamboyant as Cher. In fact, from where we sat, we could barely see her during her first song, where she wore a black hooded cloak, where only the fringes of her brilliant, long red hair peeked out.

Thankfully, she put her hood down and (for those of us who were sitting facing her back) we finally could see her. Her costume changes involved removing one cloak and putting on another over-the-top accessory as she sang and eventually she changed that into a rather cool looking jacket. She wore (what looked like) sparkly jeans and combat boots.

Then as she moved into the songs that made her want to dance, she danced.

Not the choreographed, fine tuned and well rehearsed dancing that resembles a Dancing With the Stars ensemble. She simply danced.

You could feel the music seep into her soul and come out in her movement. At times, she simply spun in a circle. At other times, every ounce of her body was moving to the beat of the music.

I looked at her and I was immediately taken back to my High School Reunion when the music seeped inside of my bones and took over. I danced like no one was watching. The music recreated me from the inside, out. I felt more of the music and less of the ugly. The music gave me courage. The courageous me started to emerge. The part of me that has always been there broke out of the paralysis that had overtaken the fifteen year old me. And I danced.

I watched Cyndi Lauper and related to what she was feeling in that moment. Just the music ... her and the music were one.

At the end of her set, someone from the audience yelled out, "Happy Birthday, Cyndi!!" and she told us that she was turning 61 years old the next day.

Sixty one years old and she is still dancing like an energetic teen.

I want to be Cyndi Lauper when I grow up!