The Yin and Yang of Dance
By: Beibei Song 宋贝贝
Tags: Leadership, Dance, Somatic, Mind Body, Movement

The Yin and Yang of Dance

How the choreography of our time can use technology, separation, and mindbody wisdom wisely to bring people together and to connect with ourselves

By Katherine Relf-Cañas

The Essinova Artful Life series capped off its playful Saturday program on August 29th, with dance. A lot of milestone experiences that are essential rituals in life involve dancing because humans have been dancing for a long time — anywhere from 150,000 to 6 million years. We’re not alone in this. Even animals dance — whether to attract a mate or to bob and strut for fun.

My husband and I set up two orange yoga mats in our living room and were one of the couples who were not part of the virtual dance partnering. Anu and the facilitators used the Zoom ‘pin’ feature to pair partners across the Atlantic and in a few other time zones. We closed up social distance using technology to connect on multiple levels. Joe and I both found the playshop sweet, and agree that it is fun to indulge in being a little silly. Also, as Belinda Chlouber, participant and a playshop facilitator in the series, mentioned during the event, we need to MOVE MORE!

The series finale playshop was an invitation to dance with the Artful Life community, to dance with one another, and also to dance with ourselves. If silent disco comes to mind, think again. This was more about holistic practices and mind-body exploration than prom. Yet, dance can and does involve nuance: it is ritual, social engagement, and workout as well as a way to upgrade our neuro-muscular pathways for deep mindbody integration. The big takeaway: consider using dance and movement in your daily life just like other mindful arts activities presented in this series. Yes, try this at home!

The Yin and Yang of Dance Playshop introduced us first to three dancer-researcher-educators: Sarah Holmes, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Fides Matzdorf and Ramen Sen, both in Sheffield, England. All came to us virtually via Zoom. Sarah started us off on our yoga mats or chairs in an elemental integration movement of somatic experiencing. She brought up how this type of practice can relieve tension in the body. We did Xs with our arms above outstretched, and some of us rolled into a fetal position, a left/right side of the body and whole-brain stimulating series of dynamic and fluid poses. This warmup served to enhance our embodied cognitive awareness and to upgrade our neuro-muscular pathways.

Laptops on a nearby surface — separating and coming back to the group online was part of the dance — we alternated using the pin feature of Zoom to have two individuals dance with each other, then all of us rejoin our group. The music was upbeat and had that ‘makes you want to move’ quality that got us revved up. There were no steps to follow or dances to learn. Rather, the instruction was about tuning in to ourselves and one another. Oh, and we also danced with our pillows and stuffed animals, both of which were referred to as ‘fluffy friends.’ See ours below. We appreciated that Fides had a flair for whimsy. Overall, it was about bringing awareness to the experience and to the movement itself.