'This Impromptu Dance'

October 16, 2014 4:54 AM

I start the music, take his hands and start leading him, swaying them back and forth. And he lets go of me. He's gonna wing it as he was prone to do when he was younger. Breathing on his own for the last time, Geoffrey Holder, eyes closed, performs his last solo to Bill Evans playing Fauré's Pavane. From his deathbed. The arms take flight, his beautiful hands articulate through the air, with grace. I whisper "shoulders" and they go into an undulating shimmy, rolling like waves. His Geoffrey Holder head gently rocks back and forth as he stretches out his right arm to deliver his trademark finger gesture, which once meant "you can't afford this" and now is a subtle manifestation of pure human spirit and infinite wisdom. His musical timing still impeccable, bouncing off the notes, as if playing his own duet with Evan's piano. Come the finale, he doesn't lift himself off the bed as he planned; instead, one last gentle rock of the torso, crosses his arms and turns his head to the side in a pose worthy of Pavlova. All with a faint, gentile smile.

Leo Holder talks about his father's last dance.
posted by MartinWisse (9 comments total)

Wow, the apple didn't fall far from that tree - Leo can write among his other talents. An amazing, beautiful story, told with the verve and skill it deserved.
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:13 AM on October 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

So lovely, and so generous to share such an intimate moment.
posted by donnagirl at 5:14 AM on October 16, 2014 [2 favorites]

(A serious question: is that a "gentle smile" or a "gentile smile"? The original text says "gentile," but surely that's a typo…or am I misunderstanding something about Holder?)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:07 AM on October 16, 2014

Oh. I edited that. NOT GREAT HOLMES.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 6:40 AM on October 16, 2014 [5 favorites]

Simply beautiful.

It is said that the death of a man's father is the most consequential moment in his life. Leo will treasure his memories of the moment, irrespective of any frictions that may ever have existed between him and his father. He is most fortunate, and we are most fortunate that he was willing to share them with us.
posted by rdone at 7:40 AM on October 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

No!!!! I didn't know Holder had died! I was completely transported by Hot Black Ash a few years back. It holds in its palm the curative seeds of African-American dance communities. So so so so sad :(

.
posted by gusandrews at 12:40 PM on October 16, 2014

That is wonderful, thank you for posting it. It's the best we can hope for, to be ourselves right up to the end.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:45 PM on October 16, 2014

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posted by On the Corner at 12:02 AM on October 17, 2014

previously
posted by poffin boffin at 12:12 AM on October 17, 2014