The Health Benefits of Community Dance

Festival season is upon us, and in the UK at least, music and dancing are often an integral part of the experience. Add the great outdoors, the healing power of nature and some fine weather to the mix, and it’s a formular for peak experience and the mood of ecstasy. Clearly there’s a reason that Glastonbury tickets sell out in well under an hour, even months ahead of the event in the November gloom. 200,000 tickets are sold, and attendance would be significantly higher with more availability.

Not just a party

Partying and pure hedonistic pleasure are great. Life is hard and the world is a mess. Dancing is a great form of escape, breaking out of social constraints and responsibilities holds great attraction. Could it possibly be that alongside all the merriment, there is something healing happening as well? Aren’t most of the things that are good for us feel effortful rather than joyful?

Community

The word community derives from the Latin, ‘communitas’ which means ‘common’, ‘public’ and ‘shared by all’. Being in community is deeply in the human DNA, and we evolved and survived by being part of communities or groups. Indeed, the success and proliferation of human beings on this planet, has largely been about our ability to cooperate and communicate.

Dance and community

As I trace in my book, Dance For Life, many believe that dance helped with survival in early human groups by creating bonding and group cohesion. Dance was also widely used as part of religious ritual. Cave paintings show pictures of human dancing supporting the idea that dance was important in early social life. Dance appears to be embedded in community both historically and globally.

Health

We all know that dancing is good for us: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The benefits range from improved cardiovascular health, dementia prevention, stress reduction, the release and expression of feelings, a sense of going beyond the limitations of our worries and personal stories. Add to this potent mix the social benefits of dancing with others that helps tackle loneliness and isolation. Interestingly it was the recent Covid 19 pandemic and the experience of lockdown that birthed a whole new interest in dance in the West.

Community Dance

The term ‘Community Dance’ can have a very specific meaning, as detailed by People Dancing, the foundation for community dance:

‘People Dancing is the development organisation for community and participatory dance, driving forward inclusion and excellence through training, qualifications, resources, specialist programmes and networks’. www.communitydance.org.uk

Diverse and Inclusive

Community dance often includes various styles that reflect different cultures and traditions, allowing people to celebrate diversity while exploring new rhythms, movements, and histories. Community dance is also about including those with particular needs, for example sessions designed for people who have dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

More Communities

Lots of communities are built around dance: weekly classes, ad-hoc sessions and workshops provide a sense of community for the many that participate. Dancing is about self-expression and communication so perfect for bringing people together and providing an opportunity to connect and belong with others.

Conscious Dance

My link with the dance world started in my teens dancing with friends at parties, through my 20s when I discovered clubbing, and later when I started organising clubs and raves, all because I loved the experience of dancing with others. In more recent times, wanting to avoid hangovers and late nights, I took up dance as a conscious dance practice, entering movement through attention to breath and felt experience. Now I run conscious dance sessions for others.

What I see

Running dance sessions, I hear and see first-hand the wonderful effect dance has on people’s health (emotional and physical). I often watch people when they first come to session full of inhibition in their physical movement, grow into confident and engaged movers on the dancefloor. I hear people sharing at the end of a session, how connected free and uplifted they feel. I watch people go from being barely present, almost disembodied, to be fully and intentionally there and committed. It is a deep honour and pleasure.

Healthy, Happy and For All

Community dance delivers healthier bodies, better mental and emotional health, creative output, social connection and a sense of belonging. It has been going on since the dawn of human time and throughout the world.

I invite you to come and get a taste of the Flomotion dance community in action. It’s open, friendly and inclusive.

Welcome everyBODY!

If you fancy a go at Flomotion dance click here to book a session.