Biodance, or biodanza, is a healing technique created about fourty years ago in Chile which combines creative expression and body sensitive experience with music and community-building to create movements that will allow each individual to achieve a healthy lifestyle in relation with others and the environment. This technique seeks to give priority back to the individual’s corporal experience, human encounter, and sensitivity. The idea is that through the conscious reproduction of gestures and expressions from everyday movements, a therapeutic and transformational effect can be achieved. Biodanza is based on vivencias (intense experiences in the here and now) created through movement, music, dance, and encounter situations within a group.

According to biodanza teachers, the regular practice of biodanza increases the general state of mental and physical health and helps gain awareness of individual movements, body posture, expressive qualities, communicational skills, body language, and respect.

During the biodanza session, each person works on three levels: communication with oneself, communication with another person, and communication with the group. The objective of biodanza is to achieve a higher quality of life. It aims to release stress, gain a deeper understanding and development of the self, a greater expression of one’s potential, and the capacity to relate and bond with others. Biodanza works by improving self-esteem and self-confidence, which in turn reduce stress levels. It is always experienced in a group, hence its importance in creating and developing human bonds. This technique also improves a person’s relationships outside the biodanza group. By releasing stress during the biodanza session, the person tends to be more tolerant and communicative, and can thus improve social skills. According to some studies, biodanza can also relieve various psychological problems, regulate blood pressure, and improve the immune system.