How Carrie Bickmore got her groove back

AS 2016 draws to a close, Carrie Bickmore reveals that what she’ll remember most about the past 12 months was that it was the year she let music back into her life.

Stellar magazine columnist Carrie Bickmore jokes that 2016 was the year she became “the world’s oldest Belieber”. Picture: Cameron Grayson.

MANY might remember 2016 as the day the music died. No doubt, we lost some big names: David Bowie, Prince and Leonard Cohen among them. But as we prepare to say hello to 2017 (really, already!?), one of the things I’ll remember most about the past year was that I let music back into my life.

This time last year, I had just put on my BrainBeats concert with Ed Sheeran and Vance Joy for my Carrie’s Beanies 4 Brain Cancer foundation, and had spent the day marvelling at how unifying music can be, and how much I love it! Love, love, love it. It does something to my body and to my soul. I get goosebumps, I wanna cry, I wanna sing and, most of all, I wanna dance.

Once upon a time, I was always the first and last on any dance floor. My signature move was the unfairly named “tart drop”, but I don’t get it out much anymore – my inability to drop down to the floor and get back up again without falling flat on my butt or doing my knee prevents such fun.

Plus kids, work and boring adult commitments seem to get in the way of spontaneous fun. If you do get an hour to yourself with no housework to do, it can easily be frittered away scrolling through Instagram. Plus, there aren’t many nightclubs open in the middle of the day.

So I decided, early in 2016, that it was going to be my year of music, concerts and dancing. (I am not usually one for New Year’s resolutions – they normally involve eating less and drinking less, and are never achievable – but this one seemed doable.)

My first move post-epiphany was to enrol in a Beyoncé dance class. Tell me you haven’t strutted around your lounge room before pretending to be a back-up dancer. So, into the class I strolled, terrified of course. I assumed I’d be 20 years too old. But I was delighted to see a bunch of mums in their activewear, two beats behind just like me, laughing and smiling. It was loads of fun (and a great way to keep fit; I was sweating by the end!).

Next on my list was to book some concert tickets. I have a concert friend. His name is Brad. Brad doesn’t mind sitting on hold or hitting refresh over and over. If you are going to get back into a hobby, you need a partner in crime. Someone who will drag you out even when you are exhausted, have work first thing in the morning and are trying to pull out of going.

Brad dragged me out at 9pm on a wet Sunday night (two hours after my usual bedtime) and danced with me to the Vengaboys. Yes, the Vengaboys. Before you judge Brad, he also took me to Sam Smith, Taylor Swift and Vance Joy, and will be there for Guns N’ Roses and grooving alongside me to Justin Bieber. People still groove, yeah? And yes, I may be the world’s oldest Belieber!

Lastly, I brought music back into the everyday part of my life. I run to it (I’m into ’80s at the moment), I sing to it out loud in the car (RnB Fridays are my jam) and I dance around the kitchen with the family at every opportunity. I even have little dance parties with my nieces (vision of which will remain private!).

I’ve never been good at mindfulness, but I think music might just be my decompressor. It makes me happy.

Carrie co-hosts The Project, 6.30pm weeknights, on Network Ten.

Originally published as How Carrie Bickmore got her groove back