The power of movement: How dance is an outlet for self-expression and connection

For Swann Tsai, dance is more than an art form — it’s a passion that has allowed her to look at life through a clearer lens — one that has made her care more not only for other people, but herself. 

Tsai, a Kwantlen Polytechnic University English major and creative writing minor, first started dancing when she was in Grade 9. In the comfortable confines of her home listening to electronic dance and remixed music, Tsai found herself grooving and bone-breaking, an aspect of the dance style popping, in which she uses her hypermobility to dislocate her shoulders. 

After some encouragement from friends and family, Tsai decided to try out for her high school’s dance team. After an audition with the team’s coach at the time, who was into popping, Tsai made it onto the roster, her first step into a long journey with dance. 

“I dance because I like the freedom it gives me to express myself. I like the competitive environment. I like the people in the [dance] community who I’ve met and continue to meet,” she says.

“The people who you meet genuinely want to share these experiences with you and want to see you dance. Even if you’re competing against these people, everyone for the most part is supportive of each other.” 

Since Grade 11, Tsai has been training in various dance studios, learning everything from hip hop to contemporary dance. Today, she is a member of the independent dance group K.I! & Co., which performs and competes at events around the community. She also teaches dance to students at her old high school. 

“I dedicate so much of my time to [dance], I dedicate my body to it …. It’s made me see more of my self-worth, connect with other people, and explore the world,” she says. 

“Through dance, you’re able to share a part of yourself with other people and have them feel the same way. It’s a very deep connection that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else in my life yet.” 

Dance is a sustainable activity with physical benefits that typical sports don’t achieve, including an improved manner of walking, posture, and balance, according to a Government of Canada news release. While it has many positive physical health impacts, like improved aerobic power, muscular endurance, flexibility, and strength, it is also a tool for mental well-being. 

A report by ParticipACTION found dance promotes social engagement and connection while also serving as an outlet for creativity through improvisation and self-expression. Participating in dance can help relieve physical tension, anxiety, and aggression, while decreasing cognitive and kinesthetic confusion, the U.S. National Library of Medicine reported. 

Another benefit of dance is how it can build a sense of community, which is part of the art form’s very nature, says Judith Garay, a professional dancer, choreographer, and retired associate professor at Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts.

“I think you have to be consciously blocking yourself to not actually connect with the people you’re dancing with,” Garay says.  

“You spend so much time with the people [you dance with], even if it’s just one hour, but you’re very intense, and it’s very focused.”

Garay says she has always expressed herself through movement, and in a world where we spend so much time stagnant or staring at screens, being able to move your body in a positive way can be powerful. 

“[Dance] makes you so aware of other people, but also yourself. And, of course, moving is what we all have to do to stay alive, so I think moving in a way that you enjoy is really good.”

Pulling on her passion for community and movement, Tsai used dance to inspire a video essay she created for one of her English classes. 

The project, titled “Body: Gender Performativity and Dance as Performance Art,” explored how dance from marginalized communities can challenge and free the body from gender-conforming expectations. In the video, she featured people in her local dance community to showcase their talents. 

Tsai submitted the project for the KPU English department’s Intersectional Social Justice Essay Awards this year and won in the second and third-year category. She also received an internship with Jennifer Hardwick, chair of policy studies at KPU, to work on the Indigenous Arts Project, an exploration of Indigenous burlesque.   

“Dance is a very therapeutic thing,” Tsai says. “I know for a lot of my friends, dance saved their lives and energy.” 

As humans, we are all creatures of movement, Garay says, and within that, we all have the power to dance and reap its benefits.

“The smallest [movement] can be dance,” she says. 

“I think people are nervous if they’re expected to do a specific form of dance, and I totally understand that, because you don’t know what you’re doing when you first learn it. But if you’re in a situation where it’s either very simple or you’re given permission to do anything you want to do … anything you do is good.”

Both Tsai and Garay say that it’s never too late to start dancing. Whether dance is a completely new territory or a long-lost passion you want to revive, there are many outlets for those seeking to try out the art form. 

“Most of the community centres have [dance] classes, and they’re all recreational classes,” Garay says. 

“Community centres are really great places to go … because it is about enjoying yourself, meeting other people, and connecting in a non-stressful way …. Nobody wants you to be perfect. It’s positive. They give you useful information, and it’s not expensive.” 

At KPU specifically, students can engage with dance through the KPU Dance Club, which organizes workshops and events to introduce and teach students various dance styles, including hip hop, Bollywood, and semi-classical. 

Club members perform at community events, including Diwali Fest’s Surrey City Hall celebration last month, and share their work and choreography with fellow students through their Instagram account.

Harsimran Kaur, a mathematics major at KPU, is vice-president of the club and was first introduced to dance when she was in Grade 6 after being asked to participate in a performance at her school. 

“When I started dancing, I was the worst dancer in the entire group,” she says. “They made me stand in the back so that no one could see how bad I was dancing.”

But with time and the support of her teacher, Harsimran began to grow as a dancer, leading her to participate in competitions and winning best dancer at her school three years in a row. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Harsimran reached for dance to help her process her emotions. 

“Whenever I used to feel like I couldn’t express my emotions [or] I couldn’t focus, the one thing I would do is turn on the music, stand in front of a mirror, and start dancing,” she says. 

“I do not consider dance as just a hobby —  it’s a passion. It has taught me a lot of things [like] how to work in a group, coordinate your mind and soul, and how to express your emotions.” 

During her first few semesters at KPU, Harsimran found it challenging to make friends. In one of her classes, she met fellow KPU student Khushmandeep Kaur, president of the club, who also had a passion for dance. Together, they decided to form the KPU Dance Club. 

“Since the moment I started this dance club, I have made so many friends. I talk to so many people, so I think dance has brought the best out in myself,” Harsimran says. 

Harsimran encourages students to join the club to not only make new friends but to destress from the hectic life of being a university student and let out their emotions. Students of all dance levels are welcome to join the KPU Dance Club, which Harsimran hopes will help bridge the gap between international and domestic students at KPU. 

“Dance is that power,” she says. “We have different cultures here and people from different countries. So if they are able to come together and teach each other their dance styles, I think we will be able to develop a better society here.” 

To learn more about the KPU Dance Club, visit its Instagram page @kpu_danceclub. Those interested in joining the club can email kpudanceclub@gmail.com.  

In the broader KPU community, there are various dance studios offering drop-in dance classes and workshops for interested people to dive into the world of dance. 

One of these businesses is Studio North, the “home of Canada’s dance community.” With studios in Burnaby, Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, and on the East Coast in Toronto, Studio North offers dance classes in everything from hip hop and house to heels and contemporary. Class levels range from beginner and intermediate to advanced and open, which caters to a range of experiences. 

Carmen Forsyth and her husband Scott Forsyth co-founded Studio North in 2019 to address a need in the local dance community. Carmen was running the dance group Style and Grace while Scott was running Brotherhood, both of which have competed on the reality T.V. competition World of Dance. 

Carmen and Scott were practicing out of their friend’s dance studio at the time, but didn’t have much space. 

“We wanted to take our careers seriously, but we were like, ‘How can we continue to create, choreograph, and give opportunities to people if we don’t have a space?’” Carmen says.  

The duo were also planning to move to Los Angeles to pursue professional careers in dance, but the need to serve and uplift their local dance community held them back.

“It’s such an honour to be able to create that space for people,” Carmen says. “We really believe in what we do and we put our all into it. We really think that we’ve revolutionized the dance experience and what a dance studio could look like.” 

Studio North strives to make everyone feel welcome in their spaces and values building community.  

“Dance is an art and a huge form of self-expression,” Carmen says. “I know that is very vulnerable and can make people nervous to come to dance class for the first time if they haven’t before. But we’re trying to break down those barriers a little bit.”

People are free to be themselves at Studio North, meet new people, and form a community they may not have in their everyday life, she adds.

“We like to be a second home for people.”

To learn more about Studio North, visit www.thestudionorth.com. To book classes and view its schedule, download the Studio North Dance Complex app. People new to Studio North are able to purchase three classes for $45. KPU students specifically are able to get 15-per-cent off one drop-in class by entering the promo code “KPU15” at checkout. The promo code will expire on Dec. 31. 

For Carmen, dance is a life-long passion. As a professional dancer, she never regrets taking part in the art, even on days she doesn’t feel like dancing. 

“It’s like doing a hard workout. You always dread it, and then once you do it, you’re like, ‘OK, I do feel better,’” she says. “It’s releasing endorphins, you see friends, the after effect hits you way harder.”