Today, during a morning assembly, a 14-years boy called Cello started dancing to the entire school on the stage of the school hall as an Acapella group sang Jennifer Lopez's On The Floor in the background. Cello is a peculiar boy. The entire school knows him for he is extremely famous for being the first to run up the stage to volunteer himself for everything and anything. Most of the time, he will roll and tumble himself onto the stage and greet the presenters as everyone stared in disbelief and amusement. Whenever he performs, everyone will burst out laughing just because he is so strange and different.
Today as usual, he was the first to go up, followed thereafter by two others. The Acapella group says, we will sing a song and you guys will dance to it. A hip hop song broke out and they started dancing. The first boy, Hao was dancing awkwardly but he was trying his best. The second boy, a third year school senior, M, started breaking out in impressive break dance moves and body waves. However, Cello, was hopping and jumping, doing strange body movements to the music. It didn't help that he did some practice of his dance moves before the song even started, much to the amusement of the entire crowd who already couldn't contain their laughter. Then he started dancing—like really dancing.
He jumped, hopped, waved, twisted and danced like no other sane person would dared to do so confidently in front of so many people. The entire hall was filled with laughter, laughing at him. But there was Cello, enjoying the delightful moment of his performance, embracing the laughter which acted as a form of encouragement for him to dance even harder. The laughter were as deafening as a standing ovation.
Then someone turned to me and said: "Oh Gwad, his family would be so sad seeing him like that!"
I was pretty much surprised. I couldn't picture why it could be sad. To me it was beautiful performance. I saw a boy free from inhibitions, a boy who was joyfully immersed in his moment despite his circumstance. I saw a boy who does not know what form of mockery were the laughter but a boy who saw it as a positive encouragement to dance even harder; a boy blind to the ugly aspects of the judging human nature. I was elated. I saw life in perfection.
If there was ever the chance to address the entire school after that fateful event, Cello would be given the biggest praise and all those laughing little kids will be reminded why it is important to stay true to ourselves and not let the judgement and pressures of the society to conform and stop us from enjoying who we really are. The school will then be praised for applauding Cello for his wonderful dance lesson, and that of all the three kids who were performing, Cello was the only performer who was dancing to the beats of the music. He was the only one dancing in rhythm.
Written, 26 June 2012