'Meditation in motion': Choreographer explains mental health benefits of contemporary dance

Contemporary dance's emphasis on total freedom of movement and improvised body expression may be the key to unlocking an array of mental health benefits, as explained by choreographer and dance expert, Elena Osalde, in conversation with SBS Spanish.

Could contemporary dance improve your mental health?

Highlights:

• Contemporary dance combines elements from several genres including jazz and ballet to express meaning through body movements
• This danChoreographer Elena Osalde says that this dance style helped her settle into her new life in Australia after immigrating from Mexico
• According to the expert, contemporary dance is meditative and activates parts of the brain that stimulate psychomotor skills

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Contemporary dance combines elements of several genres, including jazz and ballet, and body movements that emphasise versatility and improvisation, unlike the strict and structured nature that styles such as classical ballet demand.

Contemporary dancers tend to focus on floor work, using gravity to move to the rhythm of different musical genres, connecting the mind and body through fluid dance movements that reflect diverse experiences.

Contemporary dance is versatile and often improvised.

Melbourne-based creative facilitator and contemporary dance choreographer, Elena Osalde, says that this dance style helped her with the settling-in process when she first immigrated to Australia from Mexico.

“It opened a lot of doors for me, not only to explore my capacity as a (dancer), but socially... (I met) people with different profiles that I wouldn't have otherwise met, and it greatly accelerated my process of integration into Australian culture, because we shared the creative process and making art together,” Ms Osalde told SBS Spanish.

She began studying ballet as a child and then, as a teenager, she joined jazz and contemporary dance. But despite exploring various dance styles, the best one for helping her overcome cultural barriers and the challenges associated with leaving her country of origin was contemporary dance.

Elena Osalde is a choreographer and exponent of contemporary dance based in Melbourne.

“It was key and greatly helped to distract me from family and work situations because dance is very meditative," Ms Osalde said.

"It activates many parts of our brain, parts that have to do with listening to music and stimulating psychomotor skills."

It makes your mind work in a way that (doesn't let you think about anything else) while you're dancing (so) it keeps you 100 per cent in the present.

Different studies have proven that dancing is a physical exercise that benefits the body and mind.

But compared to other genres that require years of training to achieve a high level of performance, contemporary dance allows the fusion of styles and movements based mainly on improvisation.

“In contemporary dance classes, we find that facilitators don't teach specific movements that you have to copy, they often invite people to reflect,” Ms Osalde explains, as she recalls the lessons she learnt from an inspirational teacher.

“I remember a teacher who, when she was choreographing, instructed us to think about our name and to draw the letters of our name in space, so people began to generate movements with their arms, moving them in a circular way if (the name) had an 'O', or a 'D', or an 'S', or moving their arms in a straight shape if they were outlining the letters 'T', or an 'L' for example.

"That exercise created original movements (without) anyone copying anyone... it was wonderful."

Ms Osalde currently works as a team-building facilitator and choreographer at Icástica Coreography in Melbourne which aims not only to encourage people to experience contemporary dance but also to explore their physical and mental abilities.

Her most recent project explores the mmigration experience through dance as a way to empower people who are dealing with cultural and language barriers in Australia.

On the subject of mindfulness, dance is a wonderful tool because it is literally a meditation in motion.

Elena Osalde

“Currently, we are preparing a choreography that explores how as migrants we have to test ourselves when we arrive in a new country... (where we often) have to reinvent ourselves,” she said.

“We are working with a series of questions and, based on the answers we arrive to through our memories of (challenging) moments, we focus on how we managed to make our way to a country on the other side of the world.”

By provoking thoughts on a personal theme, the dancers respond with their own movements, relieving them from the pressure of having to memorise and copy other dancers' movements, she said.

Each participant generates their own sequences (and represents them) in dance with a vocabulary of movements.

Elena Osalde

“The goal is to experience a personal process whilst creating and participating as a group, in something that reflects us as people.”

She explains that the term “contemporary dance” can be a little confusing because it describes a genre that developed in the mid-20th century but is still extremely popular among younger generations.

It differs from other styles because it allows the fusion of dances, a characteristic that keeps the genre constantly evolving, Ms Osalde explains.

Jumping for joy: a contemporary dancer in full flight.

“There isn't a single style that can be classified as contemporary, it can be identified in different ways... it ends up being heavily influenced by the local cultures where the dancers come from," Ms Osalde said.

"In the end, its goal is to break with the limiting aesthetic of ballet, for example, in order to explore each person's own style."

Listen to the interview by clicking on the icon in the main image.