My buttons got pressed super hard when I heard another dance facilitator refer to Biodanza as ‘kids stuff’. Woosh came the anger and fury with lots of “How dare they @#%$&%” etc etc.
But if I look at this comment another way I can see that in a sense it is true. In Biodanza people often look like children– playful, unself-conscious, fully of joy.
Finally I got tired of the inner ranting and started to investigate a bit more. In psychology there is an idea of the Super Ego, the part of use that judges and determines what is acceptable and not, mostly informed by our inner mechanisms of defence, which developed to keep us alive and safe.
I was curious what my own superego says about dancing, especially dancing without steps.
To my super ego, dancing without steps is a dangerous, out of control activity, meaning it is out of ‘its’ control. When there is the tightly controlled dancing of steps, the super ego can purr proudly about perfect execution and being ‘right’. Or it can collect a big hit when there is a payoff of looking great in a performance or doing something cool I can post about.
But not when there is dancing that is wild, expansive and BIG beyond the small self. The kind of dancing takes and delivers me to ecstatic elation, delicate intasy and the stirring delightfulness of being no-one and nothingness. This is the domain of Id, another psychological term meaning untamed instinct and or emotion. It is the wilds of human consciousness.
When I get into a judgey place with myself or others, this is my super ego at work and often when I dance Biodanza I enter the lands of Id. So how does an inner conversation go between my super ego and my inner wise one about dancing in the land of Id?
“This is kid’s stuff, this dancing around in a circle holding hands.” Says the superego
“Well actually it is one of the oldest known forms of community .” Reminds the wise one
“I just want to do my own thing and dance MY dance, I don’t want to watch someone else dancing’- or connect with a GROUP ‘(cue eye-roll).” Says super ego
“Actually since we were born we have been learning through mirrors., we can find out more of who we are in the presence of others” Says the sage
“There is so much talking, I hate stopping and slowing down.” Pouts the super ego
“The breaks and stops support you not just to repeat your habits but to experience a process of transformation, change and learning, context is needed for learning.” Offers wisdom.
The unconscious is a big place. Our body is a storehouse for unconscious material from across time and space. In this material there will be lots of different voices and they may have different things to say about dancing on different days – mine certainly do.
The more you do body-based work, the more you will come into contact with the contents of the unconscious. And hopefully in Biodanza this contact leaves you much richer for the experience. And maybe the voices will also change or expand, new ones might even appear that have not yet been heard.
Jung always said that the body was the aspect he wished to be developed more in the future. Biodanza in one such possibility. It is a method to access the unconscious in its various levels in a way that remains respectful of life, encourages the flourishing and expression of potential and enables a direct access to this potential.
If you want to give it a try, you can get in touch with us at support@biocentrica.com.au