Jazz Hands

The other day, in the middle of dancing a song, I made a mistake and mixed up the choreography for the chorus with that of the verse.  I realized after a few counts that I had done this and felt a little nonplussed, so I decided to just do “jazz hands” until I could catch up with the chorus at the right place.  I might note here that every single person in the class (other than me) was dancing the choreography in all the right places!

 

“Jazz hands” are defined by the Urban Dictionary this way: “The move is performed by tilting the head slightly, shimmering the hands with fingers splayed either side of the face and crying "Jazz hands!" with an enthusiastic smile. Think Jack from Will and Grace.”

 

I experience many embarrassing moments.  They seem to follow me around like mischievous children looking for something to do.  

After this class, I thought that jazz hands are a really good segue for any awkward moment.  Of course, it could also make an awkward moment more awkward, but why not just go for it – how much worse could it get?

 

So here’s what I’m thinking:

 

I’m in a situation where I’ve forgotten what I’m saying mid-sentence: jazz hands.

 

I just have nothing to say and am drawing a blank: jazz hands.

 

Someone has said something to me that has made me angry and I don’t want to respond in kind –yes, jazz hands.

 

And, my favorite, I’ve totally forgotten the choreography in the middle of a dance class -- you got it -- jazz hands.

 

The bottom line is this: I’m going to try it.  Will it cover up my senior moments?  Dunno.  I will try to remember not to do it while having an embarrassing moment while on the phone, but I can’t guarantee that will be the case.  (Hmmm, maybe if I just said, “Jazz hands!” that’ll do it.) 

Just know that from now on, you’ll be seeing me waving my hands around a lot.  And if you join me in this social experiment, please let me know how it turns out!  

 Photo by MaryEllen Hendricks