hey could you use some joy right now?

I've been saving this for you

I’ve been holding on to this video, as a kind of “in case of emergency break glass” post. I guess we’re breaking the glass.

If you could use some joy today, please watch the incredible Bobby Banas perform this wildly catchy dance. I don’t have to tell you which one Bobby is, you’ll know right away.

Go ahead, get up and dance. I know you can’t keep up with these dancers. I know you can’t figure out those moves. Just get up and shake your booty.

Hey, maybe you’ll keep coming back and learn these moves later! Learning a tricky dance step is good for your body and your brain and your heart and your sense of humor. Give yourself two minutes a day to dance with Bobby.

Also, the singer is Shirley Ellis and maybe you could use a little more of her infectious joy in your playlist, too.

Anyway, I found out a little about Bobby and the story behind this amazing video:

Bobby was born in New York in 1933 and he just died recently at the age of 90. He started dancing when he was a teenager, he performed on Broadway and in a few films, and then, in 1964, he turned up for a gig dancing on Judy Garland’s TV show. The choreographer didn’t show up, so he choreographed this routine himself.

I’m guessing that he didn’t think much more of it after that. Live TV in those days really was live. Many shows were not recorded and reruns were still a pretty new idea. You did a spot on a show, it went out on the airwaves, you went on to the next gig.

But somehow, this clip made it to YouTube a decade ago, and suddenly the whole world fell in love with Bobby Banas. In this totally joyful 2019 video, you’ll see Bobby come up at the very end and get some adoration from a whole troupe of very enthusiastic dancers:

After the Judy Garland show, Bobby went on to dance in a lot of movies you’ve seen and might feel like watching again, if you want a little escapism this weekend: he played Joyboy in West Side Story, he was a chimney sweep in Mary Poppins, and he got a kiss from Marilyn Monroe in Let’s Make Love.

Over the decades, he kept working as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. In 1979 one of his students wrote that Bobby Banas taught her to dance with “determination, enthusiasm, and with cleanliness.”

I think that perfectly describes the way he dances in this clip: he’s completely committed, he knows his every move with precision, and he’s wildly enthusiastic. He’s all in. Can you imagine how good that must feel?

In 2013—at the age of eighty—he was asked in this interview what he does with his time now, and his answer was—ROSES!

Well, I’m a professional Rosarian now, taking care of people’s roses. One of my clients is Debbie Reynolds, with whom I’ve been privileged to work on the movies Say One for Me and How the West Was Won besides The Unskinable Molly Brown. Usually I’m up at 5 AM to start with a client in Malibu, then off to Westwood, Beverly Hills and Studio City. My busiest time is just after New Year’s, when I get to prune all the roses back and prepare them for dormancy. Then in spring I get to revive them and prepare for the first bloom. I’m always at a nursery buying supplies, and checking out the new rose additions for the coming year.

What a life! Thanks, Joyboy, for the dancing and the roses.

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If you’d like a little more joy

Remember that we’re over here making art! Learning a new skill like drawing or painting (or dancing!) is a wonderful distraction from your troubles. This week I filmed a little sketching date with myself in the park and I’m sending it out to supporters in the hopes that they’ll go outside and sketch some fall foliage.

Supporters also get a whole archive of art lessons and the satisfaction of helping to keep this enterprise afloat. Join us!

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So Many Announcements!

On Nov 15 I’ll be at OMSI in conversation with Christopher Marley.

Are you a florist, flower farmer, or flower lover? Maybe you’d like to join the virtual Slow Flowers Summit, where I’ll be teaching an art workshop called Draw Your Design, about drawing flower bouquets. Mine is only one of fifteen presentations about seasonal and local flowers, flower farming, and floral design. If you’re interested, use this promo code to get $50 off: $50OFFWORLDWIDE

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