The Scientific Dance Experiment

Rosa Pinniger, a psychology research student at the University of New England is trying to find out how dance can help a person beat depression. Her study includes people who have not trained in dance. And, she has one specific dance in mind: the tango.

Why Treat With Tango?

One reason that Pinniger picked tango is that she feels this dance, moreso than other dances, has qualities that make it emotionally beneficial for many people.

One important quality of tango is, according to Pinniger, that "in learning Tango movements you have to focus your attention and be completely in the present moment."

Tango is also special, according to Pinniger, because it's accessible to anyone. Your skill level doesn’t matter--you can immediately begin enjoying tango lessons. "As long as you can walk you can tango," Pinniger told CBC News. And, Pinniger has found that tango is less threatening to non-dancers than other forms of dance. Pinniger ruled out Flamenco, for example, saying, "in Flamenco you're very self-conscious, aware of your own posture and the impression you’re making on others." But "in Tango you’re not concerned with that. Also, the music of Tango is not intimidating." Beginners enjoy themselves right away.

A third key quality of tango is that it's a social activity. "You need to be constantly aware of --and connect with --your partner, and so you can't have extraneous thoughts," Pinniger was quoted as saying in an article from the University of New England. As a student of psychology, Pinniger's belief is that concentrating on both your partner and the dance itself can help a person forget about negative or depressing thoughts during tango.

Pinniger's study offered six weeks of free tango lessons, each one-and-a-half hours long, to 30 people who had recently experienced some level of sadness or depression. Along with the 30 people taking tango lessons, 30 more participants performed meditation as an alternative method of relieving depression. An additional 30 participants performed no type of alternative therapy, serving as control subjects.

The YouTube "Dance" "Experiment"

Pinniger has not yet published the results of her tango study. But, this New York Times (NYT) article on "dancer" Matt Harding suggests that Pinniger may have been onto something by focusing on the quick pick-up time and the comfortable, social elements of tango.

Harding, like Pinniger, is not a trained dancer. But he created "Dancing," a video on YouTube that shows clips of him dancing with groups of people in various locations around the world.

Harding's style--a silly, flailing sort of jig--is nothing like what you'd see in Pinniger's tango classes. But, it's his way of uniting dance and genuine human interaction that leaves people, as the NYT put it, just "feeling a little happier."

Harding's 2008 video--about five minutes long--is the result of a habit that he began in 2003 when his friend recorded him dancing in Hanoi. During all of his trips that year, Matt recorded his dances. And in 2004, he posted a montage of these clips on his personal webpage. It became an Internet hit, and companies like Stride, which makes chewing gum, took notice of Harding's popularity. Stride offered to sponsor his trips, provided that he kept dancing.

In 2006, the NYT article reported, Harding realized the real appeal of his work while he danced with some kids in Rwanda. "In Africa there aren't any barriers," Harding told the NYT, "and there's immediate access to this kind of joy."

Joy, human connection, and the abandon of dancing in the present moment without any prerequisites or self-consciousness: these are the qualities of Matt's dance, and of tango, that help make them uplifting for so many people.

Untrained Interaction

Giving untrained "dancers" comfortable access to dance and interactive movement is what Pinniger and Harding have both done. What makes Pinniger's tango study and Harding's silly group-jigs so therapeutic is that anyone--from the Huli Wigmen in Papua New Guinea to the people in Pinniger's study--can enjoy the social rewards of these dances and join in without having any prior technique training.

If you're a trained dancer, the enjoyment you get from dance might be slightly different. Your understanding of technique, your desire for improvement, and the thrill of performing can banish negative thoughts and maybe even ward off depression. But, as these two "experiments" show, part of the emotional charge you get from dancing may come, on a hidden psychological level, just from your ability to participate in the very universal, social, and human activity of dance.

For more, see this original article on DanceHere.com

Ballroom, Teacher, Enthusiast (all tags)