How Dork Dancing Builds Good Relationships
We know that good relationships matter most when it comes to wellbeing and living a good, fulfilled and happy life. The longest study on happiness & health proves it. So, how then, do we build good relationships?
A complete answer to this question would take lifetimes to explore. For now, we have a short blog post, informed by what we have learned in 2 months since Dork Dancing began on the streets of Da Nang.
Good relationships, we have experienced, are built on good intention, good action, and good time.
Through a consistent practice of shared vulnerability, those who frequently attend Dork Dancing build strong friendships. Dork Dancing is built on these principles, creating fertile ground for fostering good relationships.
Dork Dancing is on a mission to overcome challenges in mental health. That’s the purpose for our dance and community. With this cause at our core, people understand the good intentions of what we are trying to achieve. This helps lay a foundation for connection.
For the people who come to support and dance, they share this same good intention. We are working to overcome something and grow together, while having fun.
Given this intention, dork dancers go through a process of shared vulnerability and social risk-taking. Dancing in the middle of the day, on the streets with strangers, is not an easy thing to do. You need to have a willingness to let go & not overly care what others might think.
You need to find your dorkiness, welcome your awkwardness, and exchange judgement for acceptance. Sharing that release with others lightens the load for everyone. Because of the context, we feel socially supported.
Outside of dancing, we find opportunities for conversation, where we may dive deeper & talk openly about mental health: a topic that otherwise isn’t as accepted in everyday conversation. We exchange stories, learning more about one another and ways we can be supportive.
Dork Dancing’s good intention for supporting mental health, paired with good action found in free, public dancing provides essential ingredients for connection.
What makes our connections stronger is the good time.
One of Dork Dancing’s greatest strength is found in its consistency and reliability. We meet every single day, at the same time. This provides dancers with opportunities to “ritualize” dork dancing into their routines. Social rituals, or habits, are found to be extremely important and effective in combating loneliness. Dork dancers have made Dork Dancing a mental health practice and routine. A way for them to let go while connecting with new and old friends. The more people show up, the closer people feel.
Over 10 dork dancers are considered “dedicated,” having attended over 10 of our events in less than 2 months. On average, these dancers have chosen to dance for over 20 hours, each! That’s a lot of time to share dancing, together on the streets, in a short period of time. You get close.
Good intentions, good action, good time. These are the ingredients that Dork Dancing uses to build good relationships. We are excited to witness the new, and hopefully lifelong, friendships that have resulted from something extremely simple yet effective: dancing like a dork, advocating for mental health, in the open public.