What is Biodanza?
| Do all facilitators
|
Thinking aloud
Now, a system is defined as a group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole. According to system's theory, changes in one component of a system will affect other components as well as the overall entity. So what happens when facilitators don't buy into some of the concepts which form the very basis of the "biodanza ideology"? Or when they don't feel comfortable about certain aspects of the methodology and stop proposing certain exercises? Are they still teaching biodanza? Or are they unwittingly changing its identity?
Since this is something that one sees happening on the ground, my questions are
- When does biodanza stop being biodanza?
- When does a biodanza facilitator stop being a biodanza facilitator?
These are interesting questions, especially since biodanza sees itself as a system that promotes the integration of the identity. What one needs to remember is that there are many views about identity.
And what if rather than being destroyed biodanza is actually being repaired, renewed, rejuvenated and kept in a state of optimal wellbeing each time facilitators stop proposing exercises they feel no longer useful and replace them with proposals that feel more relevant and appropriate to the 2020s? Afterall, none of the trillions of cells in my body are constructed from the same molecules it had 7 years earlier. Does that mean that I stopped being me? Or that I have been regenerated? That I am in a process of continual genesis?
You might argue that biodanza is not based on the materialistic view. Perhaps you believe that a person’s nature is her soul or her mind, her feelings, thoughts, beliefs and values. What if I once believed in Santa Claus and in Happily Ever After Princess Fairy Tales but I've now outgrown such beliefs and see them as silly superstitions? Am I still me? What if I stopped believing in biodanza's capacity to create "paradise on earth" but accepted the health benefits of movement, music, and human connection? Could I still be considered a biodanza facilitator? What if I didn't want to propose exercises based on rejected theories, e.g. the instinct theory? Would it still be fair to say that the process I am facilitating is biodanza? What if I decided to update some or all of its theories. Would I be destroying biodanza? Or would I be helping to keep biodanza in an optimal state?
For example, what if my position in the personal identity debate did not correspond to RT's? What if Hume's perspective made more sense to me? What if I felt more aligned with Buddha and Parfit's perspectives? What if I resonated instead with the no-self view? Are facilitators required to uncritically profess RT's creed and become Shepherds of a Flock in order to be considered biodanza facilitators? Or is the role of the facilitators to guide people through a process that will lead them to their own insights? In this case, regarding the nature of the self?
According to system's theory, if I - as an individual facilitator who wishes her actions to be in alignment with her thoughts and feelings - do not resonate with certain elements of the biodanza theory and praxis, and consequently either delete or adapt them, then I am going to affect its overall entity whether or not that is my intention.
Identity and the Problem of Sameness Over Time
But looking back in time, has there ever been a time when biodanza remained the same? Or has it been evolving since its very conception? Since continual change is a characteristic of life, and since biodanza is the dance of life, then to expect sameness over time would be nonsensical. If biodanza is alive, then it will unavoidably change. If biodanza is to stay alive, then it will continue to change. That's just the way things are. As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, the only constant in life is change. Working hard to keep biodanza as it was in the 1960s or anytime in the past would simply be working toward its death.
Protecting the identity of biodanza is, understandably, something that people who have dedicated their lives to the system can feel passionate about; on occasions even to the point of excluding those whom they perceive as changing it or as not doing "real biodanza". Unfortunately this attitude only creates further splits in the movement and adds more negative vibes to the collective field of biodanza. Sadly, the "you're either with us or against us" mentality seems to be as present in the biodanza world as in the world at large. Fortunately, some voices promoting "togetherness in difference" can still be heard.
Trouble seems to arise when identity and identification become blurred, and perhaps more so when one's sense of self and one's livelihood are also in the equation. Eastern philosophers have since long warned us that once one conceives of an essence of things one then generates attachment and hostility with regard to them. Disagreeing with Aristotle, they would say that the reality of things is the absence of essence, and that it is precisely the mistaken belief in essence which serves as the root of all suffering. Once one conceives the essence of biodanza as being this or that, or for that matter the combination of this and that, then one risks fixating it, becoming attached to a certain view, generating a fierce desire to protect that point of view and strong feelings of aversion toward those who have a differing perspective.
Regardless of how one perceives the identity of biodanza, the reality is that facilitators will do what they will do, according to 1) their training (acronyms used by training providers do not necessarily guarantee quality service, and neither does certification) and 2) to the extent to which they resonate with (parts of or the totality of) the system.
So biodanza is very much about identity. It aims to help you connect to that which makes you you, which makes you who you fundamentally are and without which you would lose your identity. But what if your essence is mere illusion? What if the “I” is a grammatical fiction (Nietzsche)?
As for the essence of biodanza, that which makes biodanza what it fundamentally is, and without which it would lose its identity... what would that be exactly? where is it to be found? However, behind the push to protect the identity of biodanza (or for that matter the alleged merits of a fixed unchanging syllabus) one may find mundane concerns such as the desire to profit from turf-protection (intellectual property, copyrights, trademarks, training programmes, congresses, etc.). Such desire then drives the creation of associations and manifests as, for example, regulations akin to cartel-style market sharing agreements to shelter existing training businesses from future competition. But I digress here, so let me return to identity.
Identity as Continuity
Locke considered memory to be the basis of identity because it connected one’s present self to one’s past selves. This view allows for change because it focuses on the sense of continuity. So long as you remember the flow of events leading to personal change you can identify the newer version of you as a continuation of the previous. If one looks at the development of the biodanza system one sees a process that occurred through time. This process is still in the memory of those who were part of it - and who transmit it to the newer generations of facilitators. Biodanza's theoretical model, for example, was not built in one day. The five lines of vivencia, which many identify as a key aspect of the system, was simply not there in the early days. Neither was the methodological curve, which was a later contribution from Carlos Garcia. Did biodanza stop being biodanza when these were additions were integrated? No, because people were aware of the flow of events, i.e. of how one idea led to another, and how new ideas were added to the previous.
Identity as Multiple, Complex and Fluid
Biodanza continues to evolve. In the worldwide movement we now have biodanza SRT, biodanza original, biodanza SJS, and offshoots such as therapeutic biodanza, vital development and neurodanza. Whether or not the real reason for the emergence of these spin-offs is of a theoretical/methodological nature is another story. There are some who wonder if they're collateral consequences of power struggles at the top - or of non-competitive agreements one would expect to see in "education cartels", not in love-centred associations. Because on the dance floor you can hardly spot the difference.
Your Identity as a Biodanza Facilitator
As for your identity as a facilitator, only you will know the sequence of events you went through in your biodanza journey and how this "vivencial learning from experience" has impacted
- the extent to which you identify with the system (its theory & practice)
- the extent to which you identify with different organisational structures (i.e. associations and federations at a national and global level) and consequently opt for affiliation or independence
- the way you see your role as a facilitator
- your sense of belonging to the biodanza community
- you sense of place within the national and global collective
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts, so your views are most welcome.
You can read more on the identity of the biodanza facilitator here.