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DANCE SPECIAL Shake a leg
World Dance Day (April 29)
A deft dancer or a person with two left
feet, everyone is hitting the floor with gay abandon these days. What’s
swaying people to drop all inhibitions
The language of the body speaks much louder than
words. Once someone hits the dance floor, it’s all about letting guards
down and just be what one wants to be. Dance — much before it became an art
form or a means to lose flab — was a source of connecting with the soul. In
a fast-paced digital age, where getting in touch with one’s self has become
an uphill task, it’s only natural that people are increasingly
rediscovering their passion for swaying to rhythms.
These days you’ll find parents and children,
friends, colleagues with their bosses, couples, even strangers, getting
together in their neighbourhood or office dance class — sprouting up all
over India — to twirl their way into happiness, health or both. Various
dance apps like Go Dance, Heartdancer, Pocket Salsa etc., have been
launched over the last few years to help people shake a leg and drop their
inhibitions. As we approach April 29, declared as World Dance Day by the
International Dance Council (established in 1982), it’s time to look into
what’s making people spin and whirl.
Being part of a dance class or a dance community
helps people meet and interact with others from different walks of life.
“You get to meet a CEO, a college student, a government official, a
housewife etc. Whatever role one plays outside, when they are in a dance
class, they are simple, ordinary people who just want to have some fun,”
says choreographer Richard David Tholoor.
For singles, interacting with new people in a
nonthreatening, relaxed environment, like a dance studio, is a great way to
find love or friendship. “Whether it’s strengthening friendships or
enhancing romantic connections, dancing breaks all barriers and brings
people together,” adds Tholoor.
Going for dance sessions together is a wonderful
way to connect with your better half in an intimate manner. Partner
dancing, like the Argentine Tango, Bachata, Salsa or Cha Cha, are all about
balance, partnership and learning to move together, which works like
therapy for couples who hardly get any time to bond in their busy lives.
Arti Bhatija, who met her husband at a dance class
she had joined for fun says, “It’s a lovely feeling to hold your loved one
in your arms, as you learn to move your bodies together – uniting your
mind, body and spirit with your partner’s. You learn when to lead and when
to follow, which leads to better understanding about your partner’s needs
and your own.”
ACTS AS A STRESS BUSTER
Since one expresses himself/herself physically as well as emotionally
while dancing, it’s one of the easiest ways to release stress and calm
tensed muscles. Padmashree Geeta Chandran, one of the best exponents of
Bharatanatyam in the world says, “When you dance, your mind and body are
both on a high. It is in its ability to block all negative emotions, that
dance triumphs everything else to give people peace.”
In her TED Talk in 2009, classical dancer and
scholar Ananda Shankar Jayant, shared her experiences of overcoming cancer
through dancing. “My doctors were horrified, but I tuned into dance and
tuned out cancer. It gave me strength to fight the painful chemotherapy;
dance gave me a new life.” In a study by the Journal of Applied
Gerontology, researchers found that dancing with a partner worked as an
alternative medicine to lessen trauma among people suffering from chronic
illnesses.
A FITNESS ALT E R NATIVE
For those who don’t want to hit the gym, taking up a dancing class is
the next best way to achieve a fitter, healthier body. High-energy dance
forms like Zumba, Masala Bhangra and Hip Hop are cardiovascular and aerobic
exercises that burn calories and tone the body; while other complex styles
like Flamenco, Burlesque dancing, pole dancing and ballet make the body
more flexible.
CONFIDENCE BOOSTER
Dancing can also help people gain confidence. Shilpa Rane, who conducts
exotic pole and lap dancing classes in Mumbai, says, “Women enroll for
different reasons. Some wish to shape their booty, some want to de-stress,
while the rest simply want to have fun. I’ve noticed that women, who walk
in inhibited, walk out with a lot more self-confidence.”
As Michael Jackson once said, “To live is to be
musical, starting with the blood dancing in your veins. Everything living
has a rhythm. Do you feel your music?”
OTHER BENEFITS OF DANCE
If
you want to connect with your spiritual self, try Sufi whirling: The philosophy of this
spiritual dance form is that by setting your body free of inhibitions, you
are abandoning your personal desires, and completely focussing on your
inner self. Whirling is moving meditation designed to unite the mind, heart
and body.
To discipline kids, enroll them for a ballet class: Ballet requires
learning and perfecting the steps taught, and understanding the rules and
etiquette of the dance form. This helps instill discipline in children and
also develops critical t h i n k i n g skills.
Get smart! According to a study
published in the New England Journal of Medicine, regular dancing makes us
smarter. The study showed that dancing integrates several brain functions
at once — kinesthetic, rational, musical, and most importantly, emotional —
which further increases our mind’s ability to think and stay sharp.
TL140427
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