«Dance and the Brain» It is the project carried out by the from Madrid and graduate in Theoretical Physics and doctor in Neuroscience, Nazareth Castellano, and Gisela Schwartz, Argentine resident in Madrid, dancer and founder of Danzar y Conectar. Both have wanted to transmit scientific evidence about the positive impact that dance movements have on brain activity.
In a society marked by increasingly accelerated paces of life, Gisela and Nazareth have decided to explore, from their professions, a connection between dance and its impact on the brain. Both have shared with LA RAZÓN the story behind their project, the scientific discoveries that support it and how Dance becomes a powerful tool to improve the quality of life.
The project was born from a curious conversation between Gisela and Nazareth. “We both knew what each one did, until one day I received a message from Nazareth telling me, laughing, how she could dance like she had seen in the Danzar y Conectar videos,” Gisela remembers. It was at that moment when he realized the possibility of combining his knowledge. The connection between the two was immediate. “I, who was a fervent follower of hers and had already seen a post on her networks about the benefits of dance on the brain, told her that I would make her dance wherever she wanted,” says Gisela. And so it was: the duo met in Mallorca, where they recorded a small talk that became the starting point of their project. “It was a congruence of two worlds that were apparently so different and yet we coincided so clearly,” he adds.
Nazareth, a neuroscience specialist, explains that the relationship between dance and brain health is supported by numerous studies. “At the conference we review the most important evidence that has been demonstrated in recent years regarding the relationship between dance and health.” Dance, says Nazareth, has a positive impact on all stages of life: from neuronal development in babies, through adolescence, where it helps maintain mental health, to old age, a stage in which dance is It has been revealed as a valuable tool to prevent premature aging and neurodegenerative pathologies.
In a context characterized by stress and frenetic rhythms of life, Gisela finds her refuge in dance. «Dancing is for me a form of meditation in movement that helps me stop the endless thoughts in my head and, in this way, inhabit the present moment»share. Additionally, she describes how, when dancing, she manages to connect with a joy and plenitude that, according to her experience, is shared by the women who participate in the meetings she holds around the world. In the case of Nazareth, the emotional benefits of dance are also evident from neuroscience: “Dance, practiced regularly, helps us prevent mental health problems at any stage of life.” This discipline, the expert indicates, becomes an accessible and powerful tool, which many people are still unaware of.
But how exactly are dance and the brain related? we asked the interviewees. Nazareth explains it simply: «When we are dancing, we perceive the music, which activates areas of the brain related to emotion, and when we move, the coordination of movements comes into play. “All this is managed by the brain, from superficial to the deepest areas.”
Furthermore, dance is a complex activity that involves coordination between inner experience and space, which requires being fully in the present moment. This, Nazareth assures, is one of the great benefits of dancing: “It makes you be here.”
A study published in the journal New England Journal of Medicine It is an example of the relevance of dance in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. In it, a group was followed of 469 people and it was found that those who practiced dance regularly were 76% less likely to develop these diseases. “This article had a tremendous impact because it showed that dancing regularly is one of the great preventive factors for neurological health,” says Nazareth.
Also commenting that one of the biggest challenges today is the feeling of loneliness, even in a hyperconnected era. For Nazareth, dance is an answer to this problem: “When we dance together, communication between the brains is favored, the perception of others is increased and the sense of community is strengthened.”
Although Gisela and Nazareth do not have a specific date for their next collaboration, both express their desire to take this project to new territories. «I would love to be able to bring Nazareth’s knowledge and the way she disseminates it to the US and Latin America»says Gisela.