During the end of May, our collective shelter in place boredom was broken by a 10-part documentary series on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls of the 90s, The Last Dance.

It had a little something for everyone. For sport enthusiasts, it featured footage of extraordinary athletes stepping up in big moments. For people who thrive on exposing secrets and dramas of personality, there were plenty of new interviews with sportswriters and teammates, revealing previously “untold” stories.

And, as a phenomenon of global branding, maybe there will never be another example to rival MJ’s ascension as pitchman for athletic shoes, underwear, sports drinks, and more. Who did not like Mike?

Now, halfway through June, my mind is preoccupied with the Next Dance.

Many states have opened up businesses, eager to provide paid work opportunities for hordes of furloughed wage-earners.  Some areas have opened up because pandemic stats have improved. Many municipalities have opened up despite increases in COVID cases.

Republicans and Democrats, urbanites and country dwellers — were horrified by the murder George Floyd by a policeman, captured on video, and the righteous rage that ensued. Peaceful protests have become nightly happenings in many areas.

And some elected leaders have been speaking out against failures in city police departments and county courts while ignoring systemic issues. They want to sound forward-thinking without turning off very powerful unions and political blocks that benefit from the status quo.

Ah, what next?  How can we move forward?

When we speak of MJ’s last dance, we’re speaking of that special moment when an athlete at his peak has the opportunity to attain an unprecedented accomplishment. Yet, we know “winning” belongs to a whole team and to a team’s city; to everyone that has a dream of realizing their potential.

The band-aid has been pulled away from old wounds in our society. We can see the brutal truth of many things we chose to leave covered. What do we do next?  What will America’s next dance be like?

I took some inspiration this week from a visit to my regional branch library.  As part of a phased plan, they reopened last week.

Unlike the pressure facing small businesses to open as soon as possible in order to keep employees on the payroll, the library is in a special category.

The charter of the library is to serve THE PUBLIC GOOD. Even during rigid restrictions where their doors weren’t open, where the under-resourced couldn’t hang out on their computers, they tried to make it easy to use other services.

And when they did re-open…it was like a strange sort of dance party. I looked at how they used yellow tape to mark paths for picking up books from “on hold” shelves and then to check them out — all without having to touch anyone or come within possible droplet distribution.

It reminded me of Fred Astaire dance studios teaching ballroom steps like the waltz or foxtrot by arranging colorful plastic forms in the shapes of shoes on the ground so people would know where their right foot (and other right foot) should touch the linoleum.

On occasion, over these past few weeks, I’ve felt overwhelmed. We’ve never gone through this before. We’ve never faced a global pandemic, the pressures of a severe recession, and such a call to address racism at the same time.

But I have to think of my local library showing the way. Even while figuring things out, their plans were clearly communicated — in signs on doors or by continuing to offer what services they could. When they opened, they provided instructions on how to complete intended transactions while being safe and respectful of others.

As we figure things out, we can always address people’s need to be heard and individually contemplate how we benefit when everyone is served.

We can change the meaning of doing a dance.

A dance doesn’t have to be a euphemism for evasion or avoidance. A dance is about movement, experimentation, conscious awareness of our partners. We might not get everything right the first time, but dancing into new possibilities, being willing to move in new ways, being open to continued improvisation — might be just what is needed.

Taking a first step in the next dance is no small thing.