Biodanza combines music, fun and expressive guided movement, speaking to our innate need as human beings to feel joy, be creative and to connect to ourselves, life and others.
When we dance and move to music, we can communicate with others without needing words, relating in an expressive way that is free of bias, judgement and expectation. In this space we dance our own lives, bringing music, rhythm, harmony, emotion and healing into our communities and personal lived experience.
“Biodanza is about feeling the intensity if the moment. If we are in the here and now, then life becomes fantastic and every moment is full of enchantment“ – Rolando Toro, the founder of Biodanza.
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Biodanza Classes?
BIODANZA IS A JOURNEY – THE BENEFITS COME FROM ATTENDING REGULAR CLASSES
Practising Biodanza involves attending regular group classes which may be structured as terms, courses and/or workshops.
Weekly classes are 1 – 2 hours long and workshops may run over 1 – 4 days.
For the full experience of its nature and benefits, we recommend that you practice Biodanza in both weekly sessions and longer workshops extending over a number of years.
Each session has a series of exercises and dances to explore and express your potential in a fun, inviting and engaging way, with music, dance and movement exercises.
The classes are structured to progressively unleash your full expressive capacity over time and may lead to enhanced living in your everyday life. There are Introductory classes, which are recommended to those starting their Biodanza journey, and Deepening classes, as one gradually progresses and becomes more in-depth with their groups.
The sessions are run by facilitators that complete a 3 year international Biodanza certification.
Research & Articles
Biodanza offers an approach to health and well-being that is life-enriching. Biodanza enhances and strengthens individual and interpersonal resources, releases stress and increases well-being.
By 2016, 13 studies and one systemic review about Biodanza studies had been published. Research on Biodanza is ongoing and additional studies have been conducted since 2016. The majority of the international and South African research suggests that Biodanza enhances well-being and generally promotes stress release.
In several studies, Biodanza has been proven to have an effect on impatience, ability to recover, feeling of activation, physiological sympathetic activity (eg heart rate, skin response), increased mood, feeling of well-being, immunological effectiveness on IgA and increased expression of emotion.
Publications:
- Stress management in Schools: an empirical investigation of a stress management system under the use of Biodanza
Marcus Stueck in Social Work Practitioner – researcher (2004)
- Dance towards stress-reduction? Biodanza as a new body oriented psychological intervention of stress management for teachers
Marcus Stueck, Alejandra Villegas, V Mazzarella, L&H Shcroder, Raul Terren, Veronica Toro in Ergo-Med (2008)
Significant differences in perceived stress and depression were observed in participants after the Biodanza period. Ninety-five participants completed the programme and were included in the statistical analysis
- Effects of Biodanza on Stress, Depression and Sleep quality in university students
López-Rodríguez, María Mar, Ingrid Baldrich-Rodríguez, Alicia Ruiz-Muelle, Alda Elena Cortés-Rodríguez, Teresa Lopezosa-Estepa, and Pablo Roman in Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2017)
Subjects showed a significant increase in Immunoglobulin (IgA) after 6 of 10 sessions compared to the IgA level before the sessions.
After 3 months without Biodanza, the effect could be seen to have stabilised. It could be shown that regular long- term participation in Biodanza had positive effects on subjects’ experience and behaviour.
Follow up examinations proved that Biodanza has to be practised constantly in order to obtain the immunological changes.
Publications
- Biodanza as mirrored in the sciences: Research concerning the psychological, physiological and immunological effects of Biodanza
Marcus Stueck. Alejandra Villegas, Harry Schroeder, Ulrich Sack, Raul Terren, Veronica Toro, Rolando Toro in Arts in Psychotherapy (2004)
- Pscyho-immunological process Evaluation of Biodanza
Marcus Stueck, Alejandra Villegas, Katried Bauer, Ulrich Sack, Raul Terren, Veronica Toro in Journal of Pedagogy and Psychology (2009)
Read more:
Arañeda, Rolando Toro. 2000. “Biodanza and Parkinson’s Disease: Proposal of Motor Existential Rehabilitation.” Positive Health Online. Read more
Bello, Susan. 2003. “Biodanza and Affective Intelligence.” Presented at the Lecture presented at the American Group Psychological Assoociation. Read more
Carbonell-Baeza, Ana, Virginia A. Aparicio, Clelia M. Martins-Pereira, Claudia M. Gatto-Cardia, Francisco B. Ortega, Francisco J. Huertas, Pablo Tercedor, Jonatan R. Ruiz, and Manuel Delgado-Fernandez. 2010. “Efficacy of Biodanza for Treating Women with Fibromyalgia.” The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 16 (11): 1191–1200. Read more
López-Rodríguez, María Mar, Ingrid Baldrich-Rodríguez, Alicia Ruiz-Muelle, Alda Elena Cortés-Rodríguez, Teresa Lopezosa-Estepa, and Pablo Roman. 2017. “Effects of Biodanza on Stress, Depression, and Sleep Quality in University Students.” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.) 23 (7): 558–65. Read more
Stück, Marcus, Alejandra Villegas, Katrin Bauer, Raul Terren, Veronica Toro, and Ulrich Sack. 2009. “Psycho-Immunological Process Evaluation of Biodanza.” Journal of Pedagogy and Psychology “Signum Temporis” 2 (1): 99–113. Read more
Stück, Marcus, Alejandra Villegas, Harry Schröder, Ulrich Sack, Raul Terren, Veronica Toro, and Rolando Toro Arañeda. 2018. “Biodanza as Mirrored in the Sciences: Research Concerning the Psychological, Physiological and Immunological Effects of Biodanza.” The Arts in Psychotherapy 31 (2). Read more
Ready to Dance?
Contact one of our facilitators or find a class in your area.
Testimonials
Our Students Love Us
“Biodanza empowers me to create healing space where I and others can reach in, heal and live Life optimally according to what is needed in this moment. I am living a healthier, more grounded and connected Life because of it. Forever grateful”
“Biodanza has saved my life . Biodanza has shown me that I can feel good about myself . It has given me a feeling of belonging, connectivity and loved in a very secure unjudged environment. Thank you to all the special facilitators that have assisted me, evolving to learn the universal language of dance and music . Thank you”
“Moments of bliss experienced in the dance enthuse my every day, and I evolve, it’s brought out a vivacity in me that I never expected to feel at my age. It’s developed my adaptability so that I move creatively with flow around life’s challenges. I have danced through the hardest of times, it’s been a safe space to grieve, process, learn and gain strength of heart.”
“……and at the centre of our being life reverberates with all of its complexities, wounds, joy, love and healing. Biodanza is the oxygen and lifeblood that is enabling me to cross so many thresholds as I learn to live life with renewed vitality”
“Biodanza has been such an amazing experience. I have had such amazing vivencia, it has supported me in being able to allow others into my space without feeling as though my space is being invaded. My desire to live keeps expanding, and my ability to open up to meaningful relationships with those I thought I struggled with has been effortless.”