Laurieann Gibson - Dance Your Dance

Laurieann Gibson is what my late friend James Ingram and I call a CREATE. That special human being who is born of pure openness, curiosity, and daring that leads them to explore untreaded paths that light the world. I have long admired her genius as a creative director and choreographer. This book is yet another chapter in her journey of inspired generosity.

DEBBIE ALLEN
EMMY AWARDWINNING CHOREOGRAPHER,
ACTRESS, TV DIRECTOR, AND TV PRODUCER

Every artist needs a coach. Laurieann has been my coach, and theres nobody better. Laurieann has brought out the best in me. Shes a true visionary and has impacted culture in a revolutionary way. This book will keep you inspired on your road to fulfilling your dream.

SEAN DIDDY COMBS
CHAIRMAN AND CEO, COMBS ENTERPRISES;
MULTI-PLATINUM-SELLING AND GRAMMY AWARDWINNING RAPPER,
SINGER, SONGWRITER, RECORD PRODUCER, AND RECORD EXECUTIVE

Laurieann Gibson: this magnetic, magical artist and creative genius changed my life when I started to work with her. I felt like I was growing and groomed to be the artist God intended me to be. Lauries passion, spirit, and respect for the arts are unmatched in her expression of them. She brings out the light in any star shes worked with, and I am truly blessed to have been trained, uplifted, and inspired.

Laurie, you are one of my sheroes. I wouldnt be the artist I am today if our paths didnt cross. I am so excited for your book and all that is yet to come to you. You deserve it all.

BRANDEE NORWOOD
SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND ACTRESS

Laurieann is like thunder, lightning, and energy all wrapped up in the human form. The moment she steps into the room, it is electrified, and whoever is in that room can never question the energy shift! As a performer, she always dared me to dream bigger and be bolder, more expansive, more curious. She pushed me to the edges of my comfort zone. These are some of the many things Ive learned from her and that I continue to apply to my artistry today. Everything is purposeful; the purpose feeds the movement, the movement tells a story, the story is the art.

I am honored to know her and excited that she has chosen to open up and share this powerful knowledge of how to dance your dance, move to your own rhythm, and make your mark on the world!

ALICIA KEYS
MULTI-PLATINUM-SELLING AND GRAMMY AWARDWINNING SINGER,
SONGWRITER, RECORDING ARTIST, ACTRESS, AND PHILANTHROPIST

My dear friend and sister Laurieann Gibson exemplifies a life lived on assignment. Laurieanns sense and awareness of purpose is pungent, contagious, and inspiring. In the many years I have known Laurieann, there have been very few peoples lives that have encouraged and impressed me like my sisters. Her daringness to magnanimously dream, her determination to press throughspiritually, psychologically, and physicallyin order to fulfill that dream, and the lessons that she has gleaned along the way in dancing it all out will most certainly inspire you to dance your dance.

PASTOR DUSTIN HAWKINS
PLACE FOR LIFE, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

Dance Your Dance

2021 Laurieann Gibson

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by W Publishing, an imprint of Thomas Nelson.

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version. Public domain.

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ISBN 978-0-7852-3434-0 (audiobook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-3431-9 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-3430-2 (HC)

Epub Edition December 2020 9780785234333

Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020946990

Printed in the United States of America

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To my father,
Lauriston George Gibson,
19402008.

Daddy, I miss you. Thanks for
keeping the cardboard box for me.

And to all the dreamers of the world:
Be steadfast. Never give up. Its
your right. It belongs to you!

L isten up!

Come closer now.

Gather round. Its all right.

Its quiet now. Before the music starts. The crowd is hushed and were all backstage, behind the curtain, waiting for our moment. Waiting for the beginning. Waiting to share our gifts. Waiting to shine.

Its exciting, right? You can feel the energy.

Its here where I want to speak your dream.

Go on. Dig deep. I want you to remember, to see, to hear, to feel the dream that is deep inside you.

I want to speak to the dreams that you had way back when you were little, before the world got to you; to the dreams that might have been washed away; to the ones they said you couldnt have because you dont look like or move like or sound like or talk like or come from the place that somebody else does.

I want to speak to the dreamer in you: the dancer, the artist, the singer, the writer, the visionary, the mover, the shaker, the thinker. The part of you that might be buried, lost but not forgotten. That little piece inside of you that knows your joy and makes you smile at the very thought of it; that quiet voice inside that shakes you up when you listen to it; that voice that puts a kick-snare boom-kack rhythm in your heart.

The thing that makes you feel alive.

The passion that takes hold of you just by thinking about it.

And when youre in it, when youre feeling it, you dont think about anything else. You cant think about anything else. It brings you to a place where you forget about your worries; where there are no deadlines, no bills, no fights, no pain, no past, no future. Where youre deep in your element, loving life, feeling easy and free.

Yeah, you know what Im talkin about. And even if you dont right now, thats okay. Were gonna find it.

Close your eyes for a moment. Take a deep breath. Remember.

That feeling, that dream, that creative thing down deep in your soul: that is your truth. And your truth in itself should allow you to be confident about who you arebecause it was put there by God. That truth is yours, and yours alone, and it is not meant to be ignored. That passion you feel or that you once felt; that creative spark; that thing that brings you joy or that brought you joy when you were young and innocent and openits meant to be listened to! Its meant to be taken seriously. Its meant to be enjoyed to the fullest.

I know there are people around you whove said, You cant, You wont, You what? No way, Youre not good enough, or Nu-uh, child, youre not up to the task, because you dont look or act like whatever it is they already know; because youre nothing like whoever it is that