Biodanza III: Creativity
“We need to place our creativity at the service of life!” Rolando Toro
Dear reader!
Thank you for being with us this far. We have now reached the third vivencia in Biodanza, namely creativity.
We are created to create!
Never has Toro’s quote above about our creativity needing to serve life felt more appropriate than in this day and age, when many seem so preoccupied with the artificial rather than the human.
When I was looking for a suitable illustration for the subject of creativity, I came across the painting The Love Embrace of the Universe by Frida Kahlo.
Here we have someone who truly created her life.
Someone who went through unimaginable suffering; a life lived in excruciating physical pain, due to the horrific tram accident she suffered as a child. And also constant emotional pain due to her husband, the grotesquely self-centered Diego Rivera.
And yet, she loved life!
Creativity as innate biological vitality
Rolando Toro defined creativity, not as artistic talent, but as the ability to create new responses to life’s situations.
A creative person lives their life in an original and vibrant way.
Frida Kahlo did not just paint from her sickbed. She also dressed in a strikingly beautiful and personal manner. She wore her hair in imaginative styles and adorned herself with jewellery that radiated both power and dignity.
Creativity is about cultivating inner wealth instead of poverty.
Rolando Toro believed that creativity is linked to renewal, flexibility and spontaneity.
He saw creativity as a deeply biological function linked to neuroplasticity and an expression of health. Toro also believed that creativity arises and can flourish best in a secure nervous system, not in fear.
We’ll continue the dialogue with Biodanza instructor Rosario Hernández.
What is creativity in Biodanza?
Creativity is our need to express and realise ourselves. We humans are conscious of ourselves and our creative abilities.
When you are creative, you are less prone to depression. You are in a flow.
Creativity is the first step to all the abilities we have that we need to use in life. It requires having the courage to be free. You need freedom to be able express what is unique.
We are all creative. Creativity is the foundation of an integrated identity that can be realised in life.
Whether you are a doctor or a cleaner, it is about expressing yourself and being free in who you are.
In what way can you see people becoming more creative in Biodanza?
I see freedom beginning with spontaneity. Then you can consciously find new movements that express who you are and realise that in your life.
The steps you take in dance are similar to the steps you take in life.
It could be a new movement and not just following the same set path. Gradually you begin to express your unique self.
Every human is unique.
Knowing who you are is part of the creativity of realising who you are. A so-called renovation of the existential project. To renew yourself.
Creativity in Biodanza is about becoming creative in your existence. Turning your life into art.
How do you turn your life into art?
It’s based on freedom. Freedom is the key to creativity.
What kind of freedom?
Listening to who you are.
Taking steps to realise something despite individual circumstances.
When we get stuck, it is often our thoughts and our intellect that cause the problem.
Yes, if we get stuck in our thoughts, we stagnate and become less creative.
Then you are closed off and locked in your thinking.
You need to have a flexible inner structure to deal with change. Then you will be a universal and freer human.
What creative changes do you see in people who practise Biodanza?
I know many people who have grown in their professions, and I also know people who have chosen completely new paths. They create changes in their lives.
It’s common for people who come to Biodanza to leave their jobs. Some discover that what they have educated themselves to do does not correspond with their inner life. They renew their existential project.
I know an architect in Barcelona who gradually left his job and created a bridge to another life that is more compatible with who he is. He started a health centre.
Yes, and it doesn’t have to be as drastic as leaving your job.
It can also be something small, such as starting to take beautiful photos with your mobile phone instead of scrolling, developing a journal practice, or begin to dress in a different way.
Absolutely. It could also be women who have been at home with children for a long time and suddenly they start painting or writing. It’s very common.
You simply become a happier person.
Exactly. It’s about getting in touch with your autentic inner self.
It’s true that practising Biodanza makes you bursting with creativity.
You get out of the rational and into something totally different. And that is where you find abundance.
It literally feels like something loosens up in your body, which you really cannot think or reason your way into.
And that can be incredibly powerful.
Yes, there are also people who are well off financially but feel empty inside. They come to Biodanza and get in touch with life. They begin to feel richer on the inside, which leads them to start doing completely new things.
I particularly remember the weekend workshops at Subtopia here in Stockholm as being transformative.
It made me think: what if you practised Biodanza every day for a whole week, what would happen then? You would become a completely new person! (laughs)
Totally! There are weekend workshops and longer retreats all across Europe.
And it’s never too late. Rolando Toro said that there is evidence that certain genetic content in our DNA only develops from the age of 60.
That sounds promising, Rosario. And to illustrate the subject of creativity, I’ll round off with this bubbly Romani Balkan song.
I know of no culture that is as centred on music as the Romani culture.
And without romanticising or idealising anything, these are often self-taught individuals who display such incredible vitality and deeply emotional creativity.
Seeing people who survive the winter on a sack of potatoes, with heat only from a broken stove, and yet can have so much joie de vivre – that is something I will never forget.
Anyone who has been to shanty towns in Asia or Africa knows exactly what I mean.
That joie de vivre despite everything is an inspiration to us all.
I love your articles about BioDanza Andrea, it gives a spark and I am so agree that creativity is essensial for us to feel happy💟💫🌷 Interesting to read that some content of your DNA develop around 60 year age, that means its never to late for anything 💥🤩👯♀️💃🏾 Thank you for sharing💃🏾
Andrea.....I continue to be happily amazed by your Humanity centered contributions. This "Salute to the power(and necessity) of creativity is a manifesto for authentic living and expression. Which the Kahlo images perfectly reinforce. (After the " Turner-esque" intro image in your last post..I'm convinced you are submerged in the power of art to inspire and awaken.; Please keep sharing your incredible perceptions. Often, a single phrase or image, can open doors to wonders we've never imagined. Merci beaucoup. And ne t'arrête pas! p.s. I have golden memories of a Summer in Stockholm.