Maribor, Slovenia. April 4, 2023.
It is a gloomy day in Maribor, and I find myself feeling a bit down. Don’t get me wrong, I love rain, it is peaceful, but cloudy skies for no apparent reason weigh heavily on me. I have just a couple of minutes to wait before heading to yet another class. And let me tell you, I usually love school and learning. So, is it the weather’s fault for my bad mood? Yeah, definitely.
Everyone has their own field of freedom. For some, it’s music; for others, books. I love dancing. I am not a dancer per se, not at all, yet dance classes in primary school gave me an appreciation for whirling to music, possibly barefoot on the grass, underneath the stars. I like to dance the heavy demands of the world away. And Max Giesinger, a German pop singer, gets me.
His song Wenn Sie tanzt (in English: When She Dances) is primarily about his mother, who was a single parent, but I believe any listener can take something good from it. He sings about how hard is to keep the balance between life and freedom. Sound familiar?
Despite the lyrics being plain and minimalist, the monotony of everyday life we all know so well is felt. The listener can recognise the emotions that the elegant language conveys, without explicitly defining them psychologically. That is probably why the song hits differently. Since we all go through life and have moments that happen insignificantly and pass through as if we never even experienced them, we feel intimately connected with the song. The refrain especially awakens feelings of freedom and carefree moments when the only worry was what flavour of ice cream to pick.
The essence of the song is in its title – When She Dances. When the protagonist dances, she enters another world, exactly where she wants to be. Living for the moment, she experiences it to the fullest, leaving no sensation behind. She runs barefoot through the streets of New York, catches a ride through Alaska and swims underwater in Bali. When she dances, she becomes someone else, someone who is completely lost in memories, putting on her headphones and shutting out the world with music. Unburdened by worries, she is unstoppable on her journey towards regaining a sense of lightness and ease.
Class is over, and I am on my way to my apartment. The weather is not better, but I am, somehow. I am thinking of what to prepare for lunch. Should I heat up the leftover soup or make a sandwich? Soup it is – not really a hard choice to make, wouldn’t you say? The small red dotted pot finds its way on the stovetop and the soup starts heating up. My roommates are not home yet, which means the apartment is quiet. Today I don’t like it. I look for my phone and open the music app. After a quick tho