the Rhine, Germany

Today we swam in the Rhine.The river looked murky but when we got in it was so clear, the water very pure. Our bodies were illuminated peach gold shimmers under the water, mermaids' bodies.

gypsy girl, dancefloor

A gypsy girl, thin in a very beautiful way, came to the table. Her cheekbones glistened with sweat, her skin was luminous. She held a bottle in the hand, a roll-up in the other. Her nose was pierced, one sparkling diamond hovering there uncertainly to signal her rebellion, but without upsetting the exquisite balance of her nostrils. This girl was one of those unique beings who have something about them, a quality that makes you want to watch them and never look away, hold them and never let them go.
She wore plain jeans and a black top which revealed glowing skin, two shoulder blades pulling like wings. Her hair was pinned up at the back of her head with a pencil, as though she were an artist, the strands curling around like swirls of paint. Her eyes shone; she was wholly concentrated on her lover, the dance.

She danced nearer and nearer to him and he danced too, and they were in time to the music the drumbeats the rhythm the lyrics, they moved and they shook and they shimmied closer and closer together, they danced they were dancing closer together and their hip bones were touching closer together
and then
he takes her suddenly, catching her head like a falling star in his hands and pouring burning light into her lips with his an animal kiss, a surprise kiss, playing passion - his trump card - laying his desire on the table.

She tilts her head and kisses back, mouths moving and hands searching,
the music over,
the seduction complete.

Origano festival, Austria

The 'origano' festival took place in Dornbirn's main square. Arabic melodies mingled with African drumbeats intertwining into the lilting Eastern European instruments. Europeans, however, are shy about dancing, insecure about the way others will perceive them.
This makes the dance in European cultures seriously tame, and somewhat dull. Dance as an art form, not just as an embarrassed half-shimmy in a crowded club, needs to be resurrected.

Anyway, this festival felt like a lemon slice of London, a concentrated crowd of fun lovers of all ages moving to the music, hair spangling in the jumping lights - enjoying living, no, loving living. Guys with dreadlocks and rollups clapped and stomped and smiled, while the music tumbled around them like whirling dervishes descending. I moved too, unsure of myself but feeling swayed by the music, not quite confident enough to really let go...