Dance First - Think Later
[Happy National Dance Day!]
Retirement Day #2678
“Everyone can’t talk at the same time; that just creates bedlam. But everyone can dance at the same time, and studies show that when people dance together, they feel closer to each other.” - MaryLee Hardenberg
For a recent Indivisible Arts Event, I invited the 50 or so attendees to join me in paying homage to the flag with a little celebratory movement accompanied by raucous kazoos [provided] boisterously humming “It’s a Grand Old Flag”. With the capable assistance of the Intrepid Maggie, Lois, Jennifer & Bruce, we started a little dance that transitioned into a group conga line that evolved into a circle (what’s more democratic than a circle?) and THAT concluded with kazoos ahummm and arms raised. We danced together.
Dance is a completely useless expenditure of precious calories, undertaken to serve no utilitarian purpose. It doesn’t shovel snow or get the dishes done. I’ve often said Dance may not save the world- but it does make the world a better place to save. Paradoxically, maybe that means that dance may, in fact, play a part in saving the world.
How? Dance is unique because, unlike nearly anything else you can do, it’s the TOTAL package: it’s physical, mental, constantly changing, musical, creative, expressive and social (with powerful bonding potential). Famous for building neuroplasticity, it offers: 1) Cognitive Novelty: ever-changing choreographies and steps challenges the brain and forges new neural pathways, 2) Multisensory Integration: dance simultaneously engages auditory (rhythm), visual (spatial awareness), and motor (balance and coordination) systems, and 3) Neurotrophic Factor Release: it triggers the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a key chemical that helps grow and repair brain cells.
Bonus: dancing is fun.
While dancing, the individual has the opportunity to tune into the mind, body (instinct) and feelings (heart/spirit)– the personal holy trinity. It opens a window, letting what’s inside - out – so what’s inside has the chance to interact – in the present moment - with whatever, or whoever, may be with us in that moment – be it a sunrise, a dog, a chair, a friend, a sweetheart – and that sharing transforms what’s inside of us BECAUSE it has been shared. In that moment, we forge a vital link with our immediate world – then, paradoxically, dance flips it all around and, like a genie, it all swoops back inside- phooop! And there we are: as we were, but renewed, refreshed, reflecting the present through connection and release.
When we dance together something EXTRAordinary happens. On a personal level, there’s all that stuff I already mentioned. Collectively, the hierarchy of the group flattens– because when we dance together it doesn’t matter how much money you make, where you live, what your hair color or skin tone is -all that matters is that you do your part – and if you struggle, the person sweating next to you will help – because we all have an essential part to play in the dance, and knowing that, we take care of the dancer next to us. When we move & sing together, we may even experience a deepened empathetic bond that connects us beyond that one dance: it’s a brief, abstracted microcosm of what it is to be a healthy, functioning, productive community: literally embodying what it means to be a democracy. So, whether it’s a contradance, a cypher or simply raising our voices & our hands together in a conga line while playing kazoos - people who move together can change hearts & move mountains.
Keep dancing and take care of the dancer next to you.
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