Comments on: Why DOES Dance Matter?

By: At The Heart Of The Matter: Our 300th Post! | Dance Advantage

At The Heart Of The Matter: Our 300th Post! | Dance Advantage — Mon, 03 May 2010 12:18:26 +0000

[...] have already contributed some of my thoughts on why dance matters in a universal sense. Here is my personal [...]

By: Nichelle (admin)

Nichelle (admin) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 04:47:31 +0000

You’re welcome, Ashleigh. In dance education and training and performing, it is so easy to get wrapped up in the technical side of things and lose touch with (if only for a moment) the reasons we dance in the first place. That is a big part of what Why Dance Matters is about – re-discovering, but also celebrating what a gift it is to share that joy or depth of meaning, and celebrating the diversity with which it brings meaning to people lives.

Thank you, also for sharing the event at your site. It is most appreciated. Keep up the great work you are doing!

By: Ashleigh

Ashleigh — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:00:29 +0000

I thought this was a beautiful article. What I love the most is that it made me actually stop and think about the role of dance in the world and in my life.

I think I get really busy working to constantly improve my technique, teaching, etc and forget to stop and enjoy how dance improves my life right now. And that is such an essential part of dance. We dance because we enjoy it, and if I loose site of that joy, I’m missing a big part of the experience.

Thank you for giving me a chance to see that again!

By: Nichelle (admin)

Nichelle (admin) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:58:36 +0000

Really interesting story, Lauren. And I’ve experienced this, although not in such an extreme situation. I’ve had those moments in conversation with non-dancers when I’ve realized that perhaps my gesture seemed over-the-top, or my reaction too “physical” or dramatic, for someone over… I don’t know 22? It’s that brief glint of amusement in their eyes. Get a group of dancers together, however, and the filter just never seems necessary. No wonder so many dancers feel most comfortable hanging out with other dancers.

By: Nichelle (admin)

Nichelle (admin) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:32:28 +0000

Very well said, Nancy. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking a moment to add your thoughts!

By: Nancy Kane

Nancy Kane — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:39:20 +0000

Dance builds community, strengthening ties through rhythm and touch, providing a lifelong healthful way to express life’s joys, woes, and rituals.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:15:32 +0000

Thanks for this post, Nichelle. I completely agree that technology and societal norms have prevented us from embodied movements.

I read a dance therapy article that touched on this… the author told the story of a woman standing in a hospital waiting room. When the nurse arrived and told her that her father had died, her instinctual reaction wasn’t to cry, but to collapse into a tucked position–an embodied reaction based that was completely normal given her background as a dancer. But since movement-based reactions tend to buck societal norms everyone stared at her and her family members judged her because she wasn’t crying.

Kids, to a large extent, still demonstrate some of these innate movement responses-they kick and flail their arms when they’re upset, they jump up and down when they’re happy, they shake and bounce when they’re anxious. But being constantly scolded and told to stand and sit still by adults eventually wipes away these instincts and conditions them into stillness. This combined with automated everything creates a very still world. Dancers are more in touch with their own natural and embodied reactions to situations and emotions–such special people!