Primate dancingBert was an ape

The dawn of humankind was down to apes learning to express themselves with art. It was a slow process which took place over a million years or more. Once the apes developed complex speech, art, and eventually writing, we became genuinely human. I believe the first art the primates developed was dancing.

Our earliest ancestors used the proto-artform of dancing to attract a mate. For some crazy biological reason, the female monkeys were attracted to the swiveling hips of the males. The male primates that learned to harness this ability soon became the ones who had greater success in passing along their genetics. Eventually, primates, both male and female, had developed an entire artistic expression with their dancing. It had also moved beyond the needs of a mating ritual. There were numerous styles – there was disco dancing, the rumba, jazz, and ballet. There were even some species of primates who were doing the moonwalk.

In one of my previous lives, I was the best dancer in my tribe; and disputes with other tribes of monkeys were solved by participating in intense dance competitions. This abstract expressionist work of art shows me, in the jungle, performing a complex set of wild dance moves. I am going full tilt – spinning on my head and managing to jiggle and shake all over; all to win over the best looking female monkey from the next tribe.