Online Vivencia – Biodanza – yes or no? [2020 Corona Crises]

Of course we can do some things online, yes it is also a Vivencia = an experience, because our whole life is an experience and the experiences we make during it shape us and make us. But can we also make a Biodanza Vivencia online? – No, it is not Biodanza.

Content

1. Idea and impulse
2. Biodanza methodology
3. Analysis
4. Conclusion and action

Idea and impulse

Even at the very beginning of the corona crisis in Austria – on Wednesday, 11 March 2020 – it was not clear to me what this means for us and how we can deal with it. Not knowing that in the meantime Corona is unstoppable and will turn all our lives upside down, I already thought about it.
Biodanza online is it possible?

In the following days and on the following weekend, the things happened very fast and the question how I can continue to take care of my Biodanza group touched me very much.

From the USA I got to know the first offer of an online Biodanza Vivencia – same procedure, same price, just everything online and my first impulse was clear:
This is not the way it works! – but why?

Biodanza methodology

Rolando Toro clearly says: “Biodanza can only be done in a group.” – Immediately, some questions came up:

• Yes, but online I have a group – right?
• Is an online group still a group in terms of Biodanza?
• Is an online presence equal to a personal presence, or at least comparable?
• What are the effects of Biodanza? – what would be necessary to achieve the same or a similar effect?
• Can I do this with exercises and music?
• What do the participants like?
• What distracts the people? – is it possible to “dive” into the Vivencia? Why and why not?
• Can I fulfill my task as a Biodanza instructor? How not?

Analysis

Without going into all the details of my thoughts here, I would like to focus on the key points and list the relevant indicators that have convinced me that online Biodanza Vivencias is not an alternative:

1. Biodanza instructor:
   • “Protected Space”
   • Trust in the group
   • Possibility for intervention
     • Sympathy
     • Support
     • Consolation
   • Sound quality and volume
   • Selection of the room
   • Securing against observation and interference
   • Ensuring the effectiveness of Biodanza
   • Accompanying and protecting the group
2. Participating persons:
   • open or closed group
   • different experience
3. Vivencia:
   • If possible, accompany and ensure the planned course of a Vivencia, with a curve in the spectrum identity and regression, in the execution.
   • Only exercises alone are possible
   • Online presence cannot replace personal presence
   • Contact is not possible
4. Disturbances, influences and distractions:
   • Technology
   • Sound quality and volume
   • Noises among the participants
   • Other persons and pets
   • Room temperature
   • Danger of injury in the room for the participants
   • and much more besides

Conclusion and action

For me it is clear that I cannot instruct a Vivencia that even comes nearly close to a Biodanza Vivencia. My main concern is that if a person would really succeed in immersing themselves in the Vivencia and they need my involvement, support or consolation, I cannot do it. But also the many other indicators tell me that I cannot and must not do this.

Of course you can meet online, but what happens if I call these meetings Biodanza, when it is clear that Biodanza is something different? – I do not want to spread a “wrong message”.

What can we do?

I have decided to offer a summary of my experiences, certainly not a substitute for a Biodanza Vivencia, but a possibility to meet, to share experiences and above all emotions, to give each other encouragement and empathy:

https://martin.matyus.just-biodanza.info/en/biodanza-und-corona-update-relato-di-vivencia/

Come along, it’s free of charge, everyone is welcome and whoever joins in is there: