Thoughts from the Dance Floor: Where Does All That Energy Come From?
The surprising power of moving together
There’s something I’ve been noticing on the dance floor lately.
Actually, it starts before we even get onto the dance floor.
People begin arriving for class. Someone spots a friend they haven’t seen since last week. There are hellos across the room, little conversations starting up, laughter, people finding their usual spot and catching up with whoever happens to be standing next to them.
There’s a buzz, and I can feel it.
Then the music starts, we begin to move and somehow that energy changes again. It gets bigger and vibrant.
People are technically exercising in their own little patch of floor, concentrating on their own bodies and doing the movements in whatever way works for them. But at the same time, we’re all moving to the same music, following the same rhythms and sharing the same experience.
And something rather wonderful happens.
We create an energy together.
“Jo, where do you get all your energy from?”
People say this to me quite often after class.
“Jo, you’ve got so much energy!”
And I’ve realised that although obviously I bring my own energy to a class — I love the music, I love teaching and I genuinely enjoy being there — a lot of the energy people see in me is actually coming from them.
I’m feeding off the room.
Someone starts singing along. Someone else gives me a huge smile. I see a group really getting into a track. There’s a little cheer. We laugh because something goes slightly wrong. A favourite song comes on and suddenly everybody seems to find another gear.
I pick up on all of that and give it back, they respond to me and I respond to them.
It’s almost like we create a little vortex of energy in the room, with enthusiasm going backwards and forwards between us.
That got me wondering: what actually is that feeling?
Is there any science behind it?
As it turns out, there is.
First of all, our bodies really are creating energy
We use the word “energy” rather loosely in everyday life.
“I haven't got any energy today.”
“That person has amazing energy.”
“The room had such a good energy.”
But biologically, our bodies genuinely need energy to do absolutely everything.
The food we eat is ultimately converted into a form of energy our cells can use. One of the main players is something called ATP — adenosine triphosphate — which you can think of as a tiny energy currency used throughout the body.
It helps your muscles contract, your nerves work and your body move.
Thankfully, you don't need to understand the chemistry of ATP to enjoy a salsa!
The important bit is simply that when we start moving, an extraordinary number of processes begin happening inside us. Our heart rate changes, circulation increases, our muscles get to work and our brains respond to the activity too.
And that's where physical energy starts becoming connected with something else.
How we feel.
Why movement can change our mood
Most of us have experienced this.
You can arrive at an exercise class feeling a bit tired, fed up or simply not particularly enthusiastic.
Then 15 or 20 minutes later, something has shifted - You feel brighter, more awake perhaps more positive.
Exercise can affect various chemicals and signalling systems within the brain associated with mood, stress, reward and wellbeing. You’ll often hear people simply call these the “feel-good chemicals”.
The full biology is much more complicated than that — and I'm certainly not going to pretend to be a neuroscientist!
But we do know that physical activity can have a positive effect on mood and wellbeing.
Then add something else into the equation.
Music.
A song can change the atmosphere in seconds.
Those first few notes of a track you love can make you smile before you've even consciously thought about it.
Music can evoke memories, emotion and anticipation. Add movement to that music and you have a pretty powerful combination.
But I think there is another ingredient that sometimes gets overlooked and that is other people.
There's something special about moving together
You could put your favourite music on at home and dance around the kitchen.
And I highly recommend doing that, by the way!
But it doesn't necessarily feel the same as being in a room with 20 other people all moving together.
Researchers have become increasingly interested in what happens when human beings synchronise their movements.
Think about dancing, singing together, marching, clapping at a concert or exercising in a group.
We seem to be rather good at connecting through rhythm.
Studies into synchronised movement have suggested that moving together can encourage feelings of social connection, bonding and cooperation.
And that fascinates me because it describes something I see in class all the time.
You don't necessarily have to know everybody.
You don't have to be best friends.
You don't even have to talk to the person standing next to you.
For a few minutes, you're simply sharing the same beat.
And somehow that can make us feel part of something.
The energy actually starts before the music does
This is perhaps the bit I find most interesting.
Because when I really thought about it, I realised the energy in my classes doesn't begin when I press play.
It begins when people walk through the door, its the human connection thats already happening.
Someone holds the door open for somebody else. People ask how each other are. Someone notices that a regular isn't there. There are conversations about holidays, grandchildren, aching knees, new haircuts and what everyone had for dinner last night!
It's ordinary human interaction and it's important.
For some people, particularly as we get older and our lives change, opportunities for regular social connection can become less frequent.
An exercise class can quietly become much more than exercise.
It's somewhere you're expected and somewhere people recognise you.
Somewhere someone notices when you haven't been for a couple of weeks.
And somewhere you can walk in on your own but very quickly feel that you're part of a group.
You don't have to be the energetic one
I think this is important too.
You don't have to arrive at class bouncing through the door.
In fact, sometimes you can arrive with almost nothing in the tank.
(We've all had those days.) And that's perhaps one of the great advantages of exercising with other people.
You can borrow a little bit of the group's energy.
You might not feel particularly motivated yourself, but the music starts, the person beside you smiles, everybody begins moving and gradually you get swept along with it.
Other days, you might be the person bringing the energy.
That's the lovely thing about a group.
It doesn't depend on one person feeling fantastic every single week.
We contribute different amounts at different times.
And yes… instructors feed off it too
There's often an assumption that the instructor creates the atmosphere in an exercise class and yes of course we have a responsibility for it.
The music we choose, the way we welcome people, the way we teach and the enthusiasm we bring all matter enormously.
But an instructor can't create that atmosphere alone.
I'm very aware of the people in front of me.....I see your faces.
I notice when you're enjoying a track.
I hear you singing.
I hear the occasional whoop!
I see the smiles and the laughter.
And it affects me.
When a room is buzzing, I probably do give more.
Then you give me more back.
And round and round it goes.
My little dance-floor vortex.
Perhaps that's the real power of group exercise
We often talk about exercise in very individual terms.
My fitness.
My strength.
My heart health.
My mobility.
My goals.
And of course those things matter.
Ultimately, we each have our own body to look after.
But sometimes I think we underestimate the benefit of doing that alongside other people.
Because you may arrive as an individual.
You stand in your own little patch of dance floot and move in the way that suits your body. You take the options you need and you go at your own pace.
But for that hour, you're also part of something bigger.
The music, movement, laughter, smiles and personalities all come together to create something that none of us could create quite the same way on our own.
And perhaps next time somebody says to me:
“Jo, where do you get all that energy from?”
I'll know exactly what to tell them.
Some of it comes from you.
A final thought from the dance floor…
Next time you're in a class, take a moment to notice the atmosphere around you.
Notice the conversations before it starts.
Notice what happens when a favourite song comes on.
Notice the smiles.
And notice how you feel when you leave compared with how you felt when you walked through the door.
That wonderful energy in the room?
You helped create it.
Come and get an energy top up at a class with me soon!
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