Why Do We Dance?
I don’t know what prompted this post.
Maybe a song on the radio on my way to work. Perhaps dropping my children at parties. Maybe the energy of tribal dancers. It could be this good post by Savvy Raj. Or the movie La La Land. Or Zorba the Greek.
Or maybe just because I wonder why we dance.
Is it evolutionary?
According to some, dancing was a way for our prehistoric ancestors to bond and communicate, particularly during tough times. Researchers examined the DNA of a group of dancers and non-dancers and found that the dancers shared two genes associated with a predisposition for being good social communicators. The better you groove at the grotto ball, the better your chances of surviving all.
Does it relax us?
One study showed that dance, in particular, can decrease anxiety and boost mood more than other activities. Researchers assigned patients with anxiety disorders to spend time in one of four settings: a modern-dance class, an exercise class, a music class, or a math class (math - really?) The dance class significantly reduced anxiety – more so than the other activities. So they say when you sway your troubles melt away.
Is it a way of thinking?
Scientists had people dancing and then doing problem-solving. Different sorts of dancing helped with different sorts of problem-solving. People engage in improvised kinds of dance say it helps with divergent thinking – where there's multiple answers to a problem. When they engage in structured dance it helps their convergent thinking – trying to find the single answer to a problem. A case of embodied cognition - you engage the brain while dancing in the rain.
Do we need to dance?
Some say dance is essential to our survival as human beings. It serves as an adaptive response to our environment. Without the ability to notice, recreate, and become patterns of movement, without the impulse to move, humans would not be able to learn how to sense the sources of their wellbeing—to people, to ideas, to places. Dancing is essential to the rhythm of bodily becoming. We shake, rattle and roll into who we are.
What moves us to move?
Dance is a way we express ourselves when words are insufficient. Our exuberance in the moment, the joy we feel over love, our determination in the face of adversity, the passionate fire of our youth and the peacefulness of our more graceful years - all are expressed to the melody and rythm of a waltz, or a tango, or a jive.
Maybe dancing is a celebration of life.
Maybe dancing is a life of celebration.
Maybe dancing is celebration.
Maybe dancing is life.
Let's dance!
""
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Comments
Proma Nautiyal
6 years ago #26
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #25
Jim Murray
6 years ago #24
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #23
Lisa Vanderburg "Dance is the melding of mind and soul" I could not say it better. Thanks for commenting and sharing Lisa.
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #22
Lisa Vanderburg
6 years ago #21
Lisa Vanderburg
6 years ago #20
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #19
Thanks for the “groovy” comment Fatima :) Keep on swaying and moving and keep the song in your head.
Paul Walters
6 years ago #18
Lyon Brave
6 years ago #17
Ken Boddie
6 years ago #16
well, Gert Scholtz, perhaps you also need to throw in an Irishwoman, a Scotswoman, and a South African Woman?
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #15
Peter Altschuler Wow - what an interesting piece on the development of dance. Thanks very much for the extensive comment Peter. Here in SA I have been exposed to older forms of tribal dancing which has an earthy and very masculine quality - really something to see and experience.
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #14
Peter Altschuler Wow - what an interesting piece on the development of dance. Thanks very much for the extensive comment Peter. Here is SA I have been exposed to older forms of tribal dancing which has an earthy and very masculine quality - really something to see and experience.
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #13
Debasish Majumder Thank you Debasish - that is a very kind comment. May we both continue to "dance" in our beBee blogs. Thanks too for sharing the post.
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #12
Jerry Fletcher Very true Jerry - I didn't think of that. Thank you for the comment.
Jerry Fletcher
6 years ago #11
Debasish Majumder
6 years ago #10
🐝 Fatima G. Williams
6 years ago #9
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #8
you have not seen my Irish gig moves Riverdance like league :-)
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #7
Anabel Timor Tornero
6 years ago #6
Me dijo una persona @Mª Eugenia de la Cruz Palacios. Nube Didáctica de RRHH que eso restaba valor a mi CV. Entiendo que no está relacionado con mi profesión y lógicamente no lo pongo, que no creo que reste nada, al contrario, para mi suma. Todas las experiencias vividas (buenas y malas) suman y añaden valor, desde mi punto de vista, claro. Lo de la imagen lo digo por eso precisamente.
Anabel Timor Tornero
6 years ago #5
Así es @Ignacio Orna. Nunca se sabe que nos va a deparar el futuro. Yo siempre digo: si tengo tiempo y puedo, adelante...
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #4
Ali \ud83d\udc1d Anani, Brand Ambassador @beBee Thank you for the comment Ali. I guess one dances not only physically, but mentally as well.
Ken Boddie
6 years ago #3
Ali Anani
6 years ago #2
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #1