Life as a Dance so Why Not Just Dance?

Recipe

Jun 6

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.” - Martha Graham

When one thinks of dance what comes to mind? Maybe a traditional type of dance. Maybe a structured form. Or maybe even something that you love or would never dream of trying. Or a variety of images may be conjured up. What about everyday movements as a dance? What about relationships as a dance?

Dance can look and feel so different depending on your perspective. As an added bonus, however, the benefits of physical dance are well documented. In fact, there are labs devoted to the study of how dance impacts us on the physical, emotional, and mental levels. There is even a therapeutic field that uses dance and movement as the therapeutic vehicle, dance/movement therapy. Dance and movement hold so many different roles in our lives and yet they lack integration into our lives.

Why might that be? A few reasons spring to mind. One might be that we have a preconceived notion of what dance is, and that it has to be a particular style. And yet another might be what our cultures tell us about dance. They may tell us that dancing is only for the young or only for people who identify as women. Still, another may be that we don’t yet have the confidence to improve. There are probably a multitude of other reasons that are not listed here. Chances are that, as a reader, you may be able to add to this list.

What if even for just a second we say that any type of movement is dance, it just depends on our perspective. That means every day we are dancing! We are choreographing our lives second to second. When thinking from that perspective, life may seem a little bit more interesting and, at the same time, take some potential preconceived ideas of dance off the table and open the door to the enjoyment of dance and movement.

As mentioned above, there is a therapeutic modality called dance/movement therapy. It is a wonderful modality for supporting mental health and has several research studies to back its effectiveness with many populations. But that will be a post for a different day. What we will draw from today are the premises that dance/movement therapy draws upon. According to the American Dance Movement Therapy Association’s page, What is Dance/Movement Therapy?, the following four are some of these premises:

“Movement is a language, our first language. Nonverbal and movement communication begins in utero and continues throughout the lifespan. Dance/movement therapists believe that nonverbal language is as important as verbal language and use both forms of communication in the therapeutic process.

Mind, body, and spirit are interconnected.

Movement can be functional, communicative, developmental, and expressive. Dance/movement therapists observe, assess, and intervene by looking at movement, through these lenses, as it emerges in the therapeutic relationship in the therapeutic session.

Movement is both an assessment tool and a primary mode of intervention."

While some of these premises speak directly to dance/movement therapy, there are pieces that speak directly to how movement is a language, can be functional, communicative, developmental, and expressive, and is connected to the body and spirit. Doesn’t that stand to reason that movement is important in our lives on many levels? That movement can give access to our emotions, help us connect to others, and even explore our own psyche.

Now we come back to how every day is a dance. We move daily, even if it is solely the rising and falling of our chest as we breathe. Embrace how we dance daily and find other small ways to maybe bring a little bit more dance into your awareness whether through a few extra flourishes in your hand gestures all the way to taking a dance class or even improving a dance in your home.

taken action today moment:

There are a couple of ways that you can explore dance. Learn about it in your body! Put on some music and see how your body wants to move. Or try changing your perspective for even a minute or two to look at your day as dance. See what you notice or learn! Finally, think or sit with how movement has a role in your life and make a list of the different ways that movement contributes. You may be surprised at what you find out.