You hear that again and again:
Dancers can't talk, are only focused on their bodies and sometimes seem uneducated.
Is that really the case?
Just because you are constantly dedicated to your body, allowing other people to lead you through entire dance classes and creative rehearsal processes for hours on end without complaint? The fact that dancers are mostly non-verbal and don't get caught up in discussions easily doesn't mean that they use less of their intelligence, that their educational status is at a basic level or that they're even a mouthful.
Dance changes the mind like hardly any other sport. In order to perform complex movements such as pirouettes, the brain relies primarily on the body's senses. And professional dancers are always dancing along in their minds, whether they are just watching or on stage themselves. Their ability to memorise without a score in front of them, without a conductor or prompter, usually in a context and interaction of several people on stage at the same time, moving in parallel in space, time, dynamics and music, is highly complex and requires not only all the senses, but also an extremely reactive, fast and flexible, as well as efficiently trained and working brain.
For over 30 years, neuroscience tests on dancers have shown that the complexity of the interplay between body, mind and brain is at its highest in comparison to other arts or sports. In the case of choreographers, it is even higher.
Dancers usually speak more than two or three languages. I, for example speak German, English and French quite passably and am quite good at Italian. At times I could even understand a little Portuguese and Czech and communicate rudimentarily in them.
Due to their linguistic independence, dancers are usually travelling internationally, often living outside their home country at times and touring all over the world. They are globetrotters and usually adapt flexibly to different, constantly changing local conditions and situations.
Be it the culture, the prevailing customs or the different stages to be danced on, they usually integrate seamlessly into their new surroundings.
This requires a huge amount of openness, a willingness to integrate, a desire to travel, adaptability, empathy and respect, and much more.
In short: social intelligence! This doesn't work without education, a thirst for knowledge, dialogue and, in particular, constant curiosity.
The fact that we are not always able (or willing) to express ourselves so well in words is probably due to the nature of dance itself.
It's non-verbal communication.
Images and feelings that are conveyed through the body.
This is usually more honest, direct and accurate than what some words can achieve.
With this in mind: dancers are complex, intelligent and highly educated artists. Don't underestimate them!
Keep on dancing and enjoying life to its fullest.
See you soon and goodbye!
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