The benefits of dance dares

Dancing — A proposed construct and test; The benefits of such a test

Two years ago, an international dance movement sprung about, led by popular dancer and daytime television host Ellen Degeneres. Dance dares involve an individual sneaking up behind a stranger and dancing secretly without the other knowing. Upon first glance, it would appear the activity be nothing more than ridicule. What point is there to tiptoe ninja-style behind a stranger and dance on hidden camera, without music and with many bystanders staring curiously in your direction? A better question really: Why then, in all this ridicule, have so many people been dancing?

Dancing in itself has been shown to have many beneficial consequences. As many exercises do, dancing helps to promote healthy bodies as well as healthy minds. Self-esteem tends to rise and confidence in oneself generally increases as well. Added the effects of secretly dancing behind a stranger, the thrill rises exponentially: Heart rate escalating, breathing quickening, pupils constricting, smile widening…

Ordinarily, humans have been known to avoid potentially embarrassing situations. Shame and humiliation have never been favourite emotions. Then why, of all things, would an individual go out of his or her way to make flustering oneself so easy? It seems rather counter-productive…

My hypothesis is the idea that an international dance dare does not bring in embarrassment, but rather convinces an individual that he or she is not alone. Thousands of people are doing the exact same thing! And while the action in itself is difficult to comprehend, it is liberating. Conviction and confidence settle after such an exploit and will not only provide amusement in the day, but it will also free the individual from future embarrassment of shyness as well. Going after what one fears most will often vanquish that fear.

In order to assess this construct (the benefits of dancing), I propose a test: Evaluate an individual’s initial shyness, confidence and self-esteem through well-documented psychological questionnaires. Following these assessments, enrol them in a dance dare! Have participants free themselves from the boundaries of social norms and let them dance in public, without music, and behind strangers! Upon their return, re-evaluate their levels of shyness, confidence and self-esteem. Did they benefit from the test? Was the dance test therapeutic? Thrilling? Enjoyable? While this is just conjecture, I believe that tests of this nature can be very beneficial for individuals. By testing individuals on this construct, participants may be shown an activity that was previously outside of their comfort zone. However, after the occurrence of the dance dare, individuals may grow in confidence, self-esteem and learn to enjoy this type of exercise. Though unwilling to do so voluntarily at first, the test opened participants to the benefits of the construct, in this case, dancing. And of course, how freeing it can be!