My name is Halli Ellis, and I love to dance.

Last summer, my friend Whitney Schimke and I stumbled upon the Nevada County Concert band, which rehearses every Monday night at Pioneer Park in Nevada City for their summer concerts. We didn't just see a practice going on; we saw free, live music in the park-music to dance to.

Not having much else to do (we're college students now in Nevada County), we informally formed the Halli and Whitney Dance Academy (HWDA), a non-profit organization that just wants people to have a good time, and hippie dancing was born. We call it hippie because everyone does their own thing. It quickly grew into a community event. We've had as many as 50 people dancing on a Monday evening.

We invite everyone to come check it out because hippie dancing isn't just for a certain group people but for those that enjoy life. Children, teenagers, adults and seniors can all find something that they love about the event. If one doesn't like dancing, there is also a beach ball to hit, a football to throw and chairs and blankets to sit on. It's also fun to go with friends or family to just hang out.

We try to do a potluck and encourage everyone to bring something. We are not funded or sponsored by anyone at the time. We scrounge up our own money to buy the main stuff needed for the event to take place. After the music is done at 9 p.m. we do our own jam session, so bring your instruments. A drug- and alcohol-free event, this is a good excuse to get out of the house on hot summer nights. It's free, and dancing starts at 7 p.m. Monday nights. Contact us at halliandwhitney@hotmail.com or go online at http://www.myspace.com/halliandwhitneydanceacademy.

I end with a poem we wrote for our hippie dance:

Life is too short to let it pass you by, take every moment as it comes, don't run or hide.

Dance for peace, dance for freedom, dance for love, dance because you can, dance because it's fun, dance because in a world full of hate, dancing puts a smile on fate; dance with yourself, dance with the world, make some new friends, let your broken heart mend, dancing takes a frown and flips it upside down, dance for the beauty and enjoy the world around.

Life is too short to let it pass you by, take every moment as it comes, don't run or hide.