Dance hasn’t cured my Parkinson’s – nothing can –
but it has reminded my body, and my spirit,
that I am still capable of movement, expression and grace.

My arms could still carve shapes through the air.
My feet, so often reluctant to move, occasionally left the ground.
It felt almost miraculous.

Dance demanded that I be visible.
That I take up space.
That I allow my altered body to be seen not as shameful,
but as capable of beauty.

The true triumph, I discovered, was not perfect steps.
It was presence.

It was standing tall and saying:
this is Parkinson’s, too.
Not just decline, not just loss –
but resilience, creativity, connection.

Words
by Ian Temple

Picture
of the English National Ballet’s
Dance for Parkinson’s Performance Company
by Henry Curtis

It’s a miracle

isn’t it?

How even

in the longest

and most brutal

of winters

thousands of seeds

are plotting

a most magnificent

spring.

Leyla Aylin

The bass

hits 128 beats per minute.

On a crowded dance floor,

bodies ripple in sync.

To an outsider

it may seem

like a hedonistic party.

To a neuroscientist however

it’s something closer

to group therapy.

Onderzoek toont aan dat dansen de symptomen van depressie méér verlicht dan wandelen, yoga, krachttraining of standaard behandelingen.

Dansen maakt tegelijkertijd serotonine, dopamine en oxytocine vrij en het verlaagt het cortisol.
Wanneer dansen in groepen wordt uitgevoerd, creëert het synchronisatie tussen de hersenen en dat versterkt sociale banden.

Onderzoekers pleiten er nu voor om dansen te beschouwen als een eerstelijnsbehandeling voor depressie.

Of het nu in een woonkamer of een balzaal is, bewegen op de maat van de muziek blijkt een transformerende werking te hebben.

Words.

Christabel Lobo
in National Geographic
september 2025

‘Dance is a language of the body’, says Julia F. Christensen, a neuroscientist at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics and author of Dancing Is The Best Medicine’.

For centuries, communities have turned to dance, not only for celebration but for ritual and healing.
Long before scientists tracked brain waves or measured neurotransmitters, dancers had an intuitive understanding of the power of moving together.

Now, the research is starting to catch up.

A 2024 meta-analysis, published in The British Medical Journal, reviewed 218 clinical trials and found that dance reduced symptoms of depression more than walking, yoga, strength training and even standard antidepressants.

While only 15 of the studies focused specifically on dance, the results were enough to grab the attention of researchers.

‘I was surprised dance even had five studies on it’, says  Michael Noetel, associate professor at the University of Queensland and lead author of the review.
‘Between the physical activity, social interaction, and the infusion of music, I’m not surprised that dance performed well.’
Still, researchers caution that more large-scale studies are needed before dance can be considered a stand-alone treatment.

With depression affecting more than 29 percent of U.S. adults at some point in their lives and therapy remaining costly or inaccessible for many, dance may offer something rare: a treatment that’s joyful, affordable and already woven into how humans connect.

Why your brain loves moving to music.

Our brains are wired for rhythm and dancing engages our entire nervous system.
Some neuroscientists describe this full-body stimulation as a neurochemical symphony.

Anticipating a melody can trigger the release of dopamine.
Physical movement boosts endorphins.
Dancing with others increases oxytocin.

Studies have shown that this trifecta can enhance mood, increase social bonding and reduce stress.

Christensen says this combination of elements likely sets dance apart from other forms of exercise
such as sports and yoga.
‘In Dance Movement Therapy, for example, the actual reduction of anxiety and depressive symptoms is linked to the expressive component of dancing’, she says.
‘You are taking something that makes you you, or feelings that are difficult for you and you channel all of that out of your system, by expressing it, through the gestures of your arms, as you dance.’

In clinical trials, this shows up in measurable ways.
‘It wasn’t the slow stretching parts, how often people exercised per week or how long the program was that had the effect’, says Noetel.
The more vigorously people danced – especially to music – the greater the reduction in symptoms.

In those peak moments – when the beat drops, the floor vibrates and strangers move as one – researchers have observed a phenomenon called interbrain synchrony.
It’s the alignment of brain activity across people, often seen in studies of group movement.

Moving in sync with others blurs the line between self and other, says Christensen, and this can result in a powerful increase in trust and connection.

How dance rewires your mind and body.

For people living with depression, even basic movement can become muted.
Neuroscientists have observed a reduction in facial expressiveness, gestures, and posture – what some describe as a loss of the body’s emotional vocabulary.

Dance offers a unique way to reconnect with oneself.
It can activate emotional, cognitive and sensory pathways, reawakening a sense of connection within and beyond the self.

Depression isn’t just about mood. It also affects how we relate to our own bodies and to others.
‘The human brain needs other humans around it to stay sane and healthy, physically and mentally’, says Christensen.
‘For evolutionary reasons, our brain will go into survival mode if it’s alone.’

Dance may also offer something talk therapy can’t: a way to process emotion without language.
‘Dance invites people to express something without needing to put it into words’, she says.
For many, that can be incredibly healing and a great complementary therapy to talk therapy.

That may explain why the most effective interventions in clinical trials involved not just movement, but dancing with music and other people -something Noetel says may be key to dance’s effectiveness.

Why dancing together heals us.

Beyond mood improvement or physical activity, dancing in a group provides something uniquely human: deep connection.

Juan Atkins brought drum machines to youth parties, creating what would become house and techno music.
These weren’t just musical innovations. They were community-healing spaces where people came together during difficult times.

Cultural historians and ethnomusicologists have since described these spaces as critical sites for joy, resistance and solidarity.

Christensen notes that dancing with others can blur boundaries between people.
‘If we move in synchrony, it confuses our brain in a good way and makes the perception of me and of you overlap’, she says.

Neuroscientists refer to this overlap as co-representation.
It may increase bonding, trust and empathy. Essential components of mental well-being.

These findings have inspired new approaches to therapy and social care, where movement-based programs are being used to help patients who struggle with verbal expression or social isolation.

In the U.K., the NHS offers dance programs for older adults with dementia.
In Australia, researchers have found that structured dance programs, across all age groups, can be equal to or more effective than other exercises in improving mental health, motivation and cognitive function.

Finding your way onto the dance floor.

In lab settings, many interventions for depression focus on managing symptoms.
Dance, some argue, goes further – it creates moments of joy.

From salsa classes to underground club dancefloors, the best results came from programs that prioritize social engagement and musicality.

Dance thrives in settings where creativity and agency are encouraged.
Researchers say this helps reestablish a sense of control and self-expression, both of which are often blunted by depression.

This insight is shaping a new generation of dance-based programs.
From school classrooms to senior centers, instructors are shifting their focus from technical precision
to expressive movement and community bonding.

Dance may also restore something depression often takes away: agency.
It gives you the chance to choose your style, your rhythm, your way.

‘If people don’t know what dance can do for them, they have probably not found their dance style yet’, says Christensen. ‘There are hundreds of dance styles in this world to choose from.’

As mental health care continues to evolve, dance is emerging as more than just a cultural practice or physical workout.

Picture.

Nick Fancher

we should consider

every day lost

on which

we have not danced

words by Friedrich Nietzsche

picture by Brooke Shaden

We carry so many things
and not just in our backpacks.

What do we do
with all this repressed stuff,
the head trips
that are holding us back,
holding us down
and turning us
into something we’re not?

We dance.

We dance
with whatever
is going on inside of us
and connect with others
who are doing the same.

This is movement
as spiritual practice.

A dancing, kinetic prayer of connection
to the unpredictable mystery of it all.

Words by Gabrielle Roth
Art by Cylla von Tiedemann

to live in this world

you must be able

to do three things

to love

what is mortal

to hold it against your bones

knowing your own life depends on it

and, when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go

words by Mary Oliver
picture of Maria by Luvia Lazo

@Kom U Dansen?
@the Grieving Body
@de Laatste Dans

while I dance

I can not judge

I can not hate

I can not separate

myself from life.

I can only be

joyful and whole.

this is

why I dance. 

door Hans Bos

In 2025 mocht ik weer veel mensen meenemen naar een wereld vol muziek.
Muziek die raakt, die herinnerd wordt en die herinneringen oproept.
Muziek die zorgt dat je zin krijgt om te bewegen, om te dansen.

In die wereld is veel mogelijk.

Je kunt er zingen
kijken
luisteren
lachen
huilen
elkaar vasthouden
en in de ogen kijken
en dansen.

Veel dansen.

Ik ben er om die wereld te creëren
en om ervoor te zorgen dat het er voor iedereen veilig is.

En dan ga ik mee
en laat me meevoeren door een wereld
waar gek doen heel normaal is
waar vals zingen mag
en spelen zo heerlijk is.

Een wereld
waar je kunt dansen
zonder op te staan uit je stoel.
Dansen
ook al ken je de danspassen niet.
Dansen
ook al ben je bijna
of helemaal
of voorbij
de 100 jaren oud.

En ik ga mee met de dansers
en ze voeren me door een wereld
waar alles mogelijk is
terwijl zoveel in hun leven
onmogelijk lijkt.

En ik mag deel zijn
van de dans
en van de zang
het geluk
de schoonheid
de groei
het verval
het leven
de rouw
het plezier
het verdriet
de ontroering
de knuffels
en van de liefde.

Ook in dit nieuwe jaar reis ik door het land om te dansen met mensen met dementie (Komt U Dansen?).
En daarnaast zal ik veel dansen in de publieke ruimte. Want dans zorgt voor verbinding (ook als die kwijt lijkt) en maakt de wereld mooier (Tango@).

Ik zal meer gaan dansen op plekken waar het niet zo vanzelfsprekend is dat er gedanst wordt, daar waar het leven net even anders is.
En ik ben bezig met het ontwikkelen van The Grieving Body, waarbij je op een fysieke manier, door te dansen, uiting kunt geven aan rouw.  Ook de Laatste Dans zal in 2026 een plek krijgen in mijn danswerk.
Binnenkort vind je meer op deze site!

De wereld

heeft onze dans

heel hard nodig.

Dus laten we dansend

door 2026 gaan!

Art ~  Cylla von Tiedemann

Ze wacht.

Nee, denkt ze,

ik wacht niet,

ik dans.

Ze danst.

Ze danst met lange, ranke passen

langzaam en aandachtig.

Ze houdt haar ogen dicht,

ze danst door deuren en door ramen

en door lange, rankmoedig dagen

-hout, glas en uren

vallen in splinters rond haar neer-

en telkens als ze niet meer kan

en bijna, bijna valt

denkt ze: ik?

Ik val niet.

Ik dans.

door Toon Tellegen.

Foto onbekend.