Start in Your Room
Dork Dancing did not start in the danger of dancing out in public. Neither amongst the danger of dancing on the internet. No, Dork Dancing started in the safety of privacy. In the safety of the room, with cameras off.
Dancing like a dork is easy when nobody is watching. What do you notice happens when you turn on your favorite music, while alone, in the kitchen or bathroom or bedroom?
You don’t stand still like a log. You start moving, something. Anything. That’s the start of it!
Slowly but surely, as the music gets better, so does the aggressiveness of your movement. Shortly enough, you are up moving side to side, up and down, in different directions. Now, there’s nothing in between you and the music: only the pure joy of dork dancing itself.
This is where you may be most familiar with the idea of dork dancing. If you aren’t familiar with this, then it’s the best place to get more familiar. This is where the heart of the dork dancing practice begins: indoors, on your own, within your room.
If you authentically enjoy the music, swinging around, bopping that head, acting a fool, then yes, you are off to an ideal start. You are already well on your way to becoming a dork dancer.
What makes dork dancing tricky is not so much the dancing itself (contrary to conventional dancing belief): you already know how to do that. What makes it tricky is the judgement surrounded around dancing in front of others.
Your feet aren’t holding you back. Your psychology is. A powerful emotion. More specifically, fear. For us, we are deciding to dance with it.
When you introduce somebody else, beyond yourself, you are introducing an element of risk. What will that person think of me and my dancing? Will he or she like it, approve of me? Will I still enjoy it? Will I feel comfortable?
These are great questions, which is WHY we recommend starting with someone you are comfortable with. Ideally, a close friend. It’s with close friends who you will feel best dancing with, because you know them and they know you. Their judgement is non-threatening. Instead, it’s accepting. That’s what friends do. They accept you, and love you, for who you are.
Now again, here you are in your room. This time not alone, but with a friend. You turn on the music and what happens? How is it? Fun? Yes, we thought so.
And how about another friend, or a family member, or a partner even? Anyone you know, trust, and love, wouldn’t they be fun candidates to dance with too? Still within your room.
But it’s fun right, how about that camera? These are great memories and you want them to last. Let’s preserve and have fun being goofy. You record, dance, and laugh. Later, you watch. Then watch again. It’s hilarious! That’s what joy is. You recognize what you did was good. It’s something worth sharing online. Again to friends.
So you post it online and see what happens next. You are returned, overwhelmingly, with love — since that’s what you threw out in the world. You get that back. Maybe an unfriendly comment or two, but most likely not. And if so, who are they to judge? They must be struggling, not accepting good vibes. You continue.
It’s fun, yes. Now what about something more? Have you ever danced outside, in public in the middle of the day, with strangers? Maybe not. That’s not a typical thing to do. But would you give it a try?
No longer in the safety zone, but maybe now it’s within your growth zone. No longer fully in danger zone.
You can invite your dorky friends to make things more comfortable, or you can go at it alone. Fear is still our challenge. But self-love is our most comforting friend. The best of them all. The one who helps us overcome that fear.
Learning to dance, WITHOUT paralyzing concern of what others might think, is the trick to letting yourself free. By dancing in front of others, you are introducing social risk, but how real, or consequential, is that risk, really?
Your friends helped you grow & gain confidence. Now what can you do alone, or with strangers?
It helps knowing these strangers are actually just like you, going through the same Dork Dancing process of challenge & growth. The dorkier, the better. Just doing you, being you. It’s how to best accept.
This is dork dancing. We advocate openly for mental health. We exchange judgement for acceptance. We are a class of dancers who like embracing our inner dork. We share some social anxiety, and we love the idea of “dancing badly.” Because that’s fun & freeing.
So if you don’t know what to do, or how to get started, we recommend something simple: turn on that music & start in your room.
Dork Dancing depends entirely on charitable giving. We hope you may consider supporting. We offer some fun rewards too.