All language subtitles for fear.of.dancing.2020.1080p.web.x264-cbfm

(soft guitar music)

- See that kid in the red shirt?
That's me.

Obviously, back then,
I had a thing for dancing.

But then, at some point,
I'm not sure why...

...I just stopped.

(techno music)

And now, as an adult,

It flat-out terrifies me.

Recently I became single again,

Which means dating,
which means struggling

With the whole
social-dancing thing.

But it turns out...
I'm not alone.

Dancing is not right.

I'm 6'1" and 300 pounds.

6'1"-300-pound guys
shouldn't dance.

- The harder I try to dance...
(laughing)

...It doesn't...
It... It makes it worse.

- I have kind of a wave...

Of... Of anxiety.

- I would love
to be able to dance,

But I just... Don't think I can.

(whistling)

- The science even has a name
for what these people
and I have:

Chorophobia, fear of dancing.

What I'm wondering is,
why did I stop?

And what's so big about dancing
anyway?

I have chorophobia,
fear of dancing.

- Yeah.
- You think that's strange?

- I mean, yes.

♪ everybody dance now ♪

(disco music)

♪ everybody dance now ♪

♪ give me the music ♪

♪ give me the music ♪

♪ everybody dance now ♪

♪ everybody dance now ♪

♪ everybody ♪

♪ come on let's sweat ♪

♪ baby ♪

♪ let the music take control ♪

♪ let the rhythm move you ♪♪

- Can you... Pinpoint,

Uh, that single moment
when you realized

That you had a fear of dancing?

- I remember going
to house parties...

And thinking, um:
It's so bright in here.

(laughing)
or...

Uh: This isn't quite the music
I like.

Or, y'know: This...
This stereo isn't right.

Or: I haven't had
enough to drink.

That's where I remember
that sensitivity coming in.

And that increased

Through my twenties.

Dance is revealing.

I feel like it reveals

My limits and my quirks.

And, y'know, I've had to...

...Accept that.

Um...

And I... I guess I have,

But I still have...

Uh, y'know,
it still creates that threshold,

As I go from that way
of thinking

To just doing.

And, yeah, you can't think
while you're on a dance floor.

It doesn't... There's no point.

For whole years,

I think I went without dancing
at all.

That, to me, in retrospect,
I think:

I love dancing so much
and, y'know, but how could I...

How could I distance myself
from it?

- Actually, I'm having
a hard time seeing you.

(soft music)

- My dance anxiety
had me thinking

About seeing
the same threshold of anxiety

In other aspects of my life.

Like drawing.

Like, the way I'm...

...Dri-driving the pen.

When I dance,
it's the same thing.

You're seeing my body...

Uh, get driven, y'know,

Trying to...

...Connect.

Uh, this is it.

- So this is
your fear-of-dancing graphic.

- Yeah. Here,
there's a frenetic nervous line.

And a... A rhythm is starting
to develop here.

Then it sort of goes down
a rabbit hole.

And then it becomes
very, very smooth.

And this is exactly

How I push through
the threshold.

(latin music)

- But for some cultures,

The last thing they need is a
graphic to explain

How dancing makes them feel.

(up-tempo latin music)

(indistinct chatter)

I'm here to try to figure out,
y'know:

What is it I'm supposed
to be getting out of dancing?

- Dancing, to me,
is a necessity.

(latin music)

I hear music and I automatically
have to move.

Dancing is a very important
part of, uh...

Of the human artistic
expression.

I always, in my shows,
say that...

I love to play music,
but music is only the vehicle...
For what I'm trying to do.

My thing is to communicate love
and joy...

And get people to react
and dance.

(up-tempo latin music)

- Why do you think
that people dance?

- Why?

It's something
that's born with you.

You feel that you are just made
for that.

(up-tempo latin music)

- Latin culture really thrives
on dancing.

It's the foundation of cultural

And social events.

It's engraved in kind of the way
that we live.

- Dance is a kind of...

Language.

When I'm sad,
I dance super different

The way that I dance
when I'm...

Um, happy and... Or angry.

So it's kind of a way
to express myself.

- Have you ever heard
of chorophobia?

- Chorophobia, um, I've...

I've never heard...
I've never heard of it.

- Why do you think
people like me

Might have a fear of dancing?

- Because you don't feel
comfortable dancing.

- Why do you think
I don't feel comfortable?

- Why? Because you say
you have chorophobia.

Phobia means
that you are afraid to do it.

- Do you think
it's because I think
other people are judging me?

- Maybe. I mean, you're the one
who have to tell me why you have
that kind of phobia.

- I wish I could tell you.

(soft music)

Well, I can't say exactly
what's wrong with me, but...

What I can tell you

Is that,
for someone that's single,

And wants to meet others,

Not dancing really takes you
out of the game.

- I have to confess
that if you dance with a girl,

You... You are moving forward
a little bit fast.

They're gonna love you more.

- But to me
and so many others...

(indistinct chatter)

...There's something
not quite right about dancing.

(stephen fry):
I hate the slovenly mixture
of sexual exhibitionism,

Strutting contempt
and repellent narcissism

That it involves.

I hate it when it is formless,
meaningless bopping,

And I hate it -
if anything, even more -

When it is formal
and choreographed into genres

Like ballroom or schooled disco.

I really, really, really hate...

Dancing,

And have not the slightest
milligram of envy

For those who can do it -

If there is such a thing
as being able to do it.

Those cavortings
are so embarrassing and dreadful

As to force my hand
to my mouth.

- Now, even I,
as a fellow chorophobe,

Who hates and fears dancing,

I'm thinking:
Is that a little harsh?

- It's very harsh, but it's...

The eyes and the stretch...
And the flick of the head,

I just... I-I... Literally,
I feel the tears
pricking my eyes.

Either for the... For the fun
of bopping and... Shaking -

You're shaking your booty -
I mean...

Because we haven't even touched
embarrassment.

- You don't have any memory
that you ever danced as a baby?
- Oh, before teenage, yes.

I can remember leaping around,
getting hot and hysterical,

Uh, with pass the parcel
and musical chairs.

The things you have
at children's parties.

- But now, as adults,
it's no longer
about musical chairs.

- Yes. And that's where people
like you and me have to worry,

Because we go to weddings
and we go to events

Where there is a dance floor,
and we look at it with horror,

And we just hope that...

When people lose inhibition,

They have a habit of pulling you
onto the dance floor.

- I hate that.
- Exactly.

- That's the thing
that drives me crazy.

- They won't listen
to you say, "I don't want to!"

(dance music)
- come on! Yes!

No, no, no, fuck fear! Come on!

Let's move! Just move! Breathe.

Be free. Feel it.

Feel freedom inside.

- You look very happy.

- Why aren't you?

- Showing up
at single dance events like this

Usually leads to two things.

Me looking totally out of place,

And others wondering:
What the hell am I doing here?

- You can go in the middle.
- Now, I'm embarrassed.

- No, no, stop, stop.
It's 'cause you refuse to move.

- I don't want to move.
- Why?

- I-I really appreciate
what you're doing.
- No, no, no, no. No.

Okay, look at me.
Look, I'm not doing this
to bother you.

If I'm bothering you,
tell me to go away.

I'm doing this 'cause I want you
to enjoy your life.

- I am enjoying my life.

- Dancing is the best thing
about my life ever.

Ever.

- I can't believe
I'm saying this,

But I'm gonna have to ask you
to go away.

(soft music
overlapping dance music)

Can't believe I just did that.

How you see me right here,
that's the worst of it for me.

Defiance and resentment
that's kind of mixed in
with this, I dunno,

Overwhelming sense
that I've just missed out
on something.

That I'm so outside of it,

Whatever that "it" is.

(soft music)

Like this woman on the boat,

People don't see chorophobia
as a real thing.

And I get it.
It seems kind of ridiculous.

Fear of dancing.

(sombre music)

But it is real.

Just like fear of heights
is real.

The only difference is,

No one would ever think
of helping a person
with that fear

By dragging them
to the edge of a building.

(up-tempo music)

Online, I found
tons of experts

That make a living
helping people overcome

Whatever fear they have.

But there's only one
that specializes in chorophobia.

What do you make of this woman
and I on the boat?

- From what I'm seeing of this,
she clearly feels the love
of that environment,

And would love you to experience
that love of that environment,
too.

People I work with are people
who come to me and they say,

"I really want to dance,

But I have a terrifying fear
of it."

It might be somebody saying,

"my central issue
is that I would love to dance
with my fiancée,

But whenever I do,
she laughs at me."

We explore that kind of issue.

Or another woman
I've worked with said

That whenever she went
into a nightclub
and started dancing,

She would sweat profusely

And she didn't want
people to see her sweating.

So her question
was about the sweating.

If you had 50 people
who all had a fear of dancing,

They'd probably have
50 different reasons for why
they have a fear of dancing.

- Well,
according to the good doctor,

Fear of dancing,
for most of us...

...Starts here...

In a little nightmare we call...

The high-school dance.

- There was that instant feeling
that everybody else...
Had had a lesson.

They knew what they were doing.

And when I looked at them and...

So they're twisting their body
and are their legs moving
on the floor,

Or are they just staying still
on the floor?

And then the moment
I started doing it,

I could sense people laughing
at me,

Even if they weren't,
I felt they must be.

Because it was a wrong thing
to do,

It was utterly unnatural to me.

It just...
It just closed me down.

- All I can remember is that...

There I was in grade 9,

Suddenly unable or unwilling
to step on the dance floor,

And finding it impossible to ask
any girl that I might've liked
to join me there.

- Suddenly, dancing becomes
about mate selection,

Or about competency issues,

Moving your body in a way
that your social group

Find acceptable or unacceptable.

Or it might be a fear
of displaying their body,

Which has changed.

Or it might be a fear
of the way their body works.

Or it might be a fear
of looking "other" somehow.

- When I was 15 or 16,

I was a lot taller
than most kids my age.

And I started,
like I guess a lot of girls do,

Becoming more self-conscious
of my body and my...

Comfort in my own body.

I think it made me feel
like I was easier to pinpoint.

Like: "oh! Do you see
that tall girl and how bad
she is at dancing?"

At my high school,
we used to have this thing
called the "dance-a-thon",

Where we would dance
all night long -

I think it was from 8 p.M.
Until 8 a.M. -

And I would do it,
because I really liked
hanging out with my friends,

And it was the cool thing to do.

I would drink lots of water,

Take millions of trips
to the bathroom,

But I would never... Dance.

Around that time,
my parents noticed

That I was becoming
more self-conscious,

And they decided to sign me up
for a teenage modelling course.

My parents were there,
being very supportive
and lovely.

They brought their camcorder
and videoed it.

I actually knew one of the girls
that was doing
the modelling class.

Very tall, very thin,
very beautiful.

And watching her walk,

And know how to hold her body
and her poise
and her confidence, I mean,

I feel like I just stuck out
like a... Sore thumb.

And I think that's me
in the shadow...

...About to have my turn.

Yeah. Oh.

Oh.

Oh, I feel so sad for me.

- Why?
- I just look so uncomfortable.

I'm, like:
I don't want to be there.

The way I'm holding my hands.

- What would you tell
your younger self?

- I think I'd give her a hug
and say, "don't worry."

This is kind of where
I just stopped... Dancing.

(music)

- When the dance starts,

You cannot think of what you do.

You get that feel
of the goose bumps
coming up your body.

It's almost like
an out-of-body experience.

I'm originally from ukraine.

I am teaching ballroom dancing
and I was in competing
ballroom dancing in the past.

- I see a lot of trophies
in this room.

Are a lot of those yours?

- Uh, some of them are and, uh,

Yes, quite a few of them mine.
Yes.

The floaty feel and being...

In the moment,

It's very meditative in a way.

Not to think about the steps
and be able to dance
and express.

- Do you know
what a chorophobe is?

- I haven't heard that one.

- A chorophobe is somebody
that has a fear of dancing.

- Mm. How interesting.

I think that the fact
that people are afraid of dance

Is just because
they're not capable of doing it.

So if you get
the right instructor
that introduce it right away,

Gentle form,
that can be overcome.

- The problem with going
to a dance class...

Is that you're going
to a dance class.

- I do agree that when come
into the dance studio,

You're being very vulnerable.

Um, you expose yourself.
First of all,

Because you are gonna be dancing
with a strange person,

Who is an instructor
in your case,

Unless you bring someone else
with you.

So facilitating
that transition...

...Uh, could be crucial.

We could have more phobias
with dance

If we don't, um,

Introduce the dance
the right way.

- The reality is,

No matter how talented
and sensitive
the dance teacher is,

It's still one person too many.

The ideal would be a classroom
with...

No one in it.

And these guys here,

They're actually
making that happen.

- Now step to the right.

- So if we need to adjust this,
I'll go ahead and then tape it.

Go ahead and pull it over.

- Oh, boy.
(chuckling)

- So do you see the controllers
in front of you?

- Um...
(indistinct chatter)

Thank god I stopped doing acid
a long time ago.

- Hopefully you get
the experience

Of being in a flesh-and-blood
dance studio

Without having the anxiety
to actually have to walk
through the doors.

- You want to use your finger
and press down here,

And then swing your hand;
keep it pressed while you swing.

So you'll virtually walk.

You'll see a ramp,
and I want you
to go up the ramp.

That's how you'll get
to the studio.

- My favourite part is walking.
Can I just...

I don't have a fear of walking.

- Funny enough,
dancing becomes

What your body wants
to do naturally, like walking,
fairly fast.

It's all about relaxing
into dance.

- So this is gonna be
your classroom.

- Alright.

- Face the teacher.
- Is that her?
- Yes.

Walk in front of her?

- In front of her. Okay.
- Mm-hmm.

- She's trying to pull me
on the dance floor.

- I know--
- she's a little close, though.

- She's got your hand.
- That's a little close.

- Some people, they have a fear
of being this close to somebody
and looking them in the face.

So now you have a chance
to do that in vr.

- Exactly. Looking in...
In the face. But, uh, okay.

- She's kind of tall, right?
- Yeah, a little bit.

- Well, she's in heels.
- Yeah, she's got, like,
four-inch stilettos.

(laughter)

I think she's being very...
Yeah, she's getting
a little impatient, but...

(laughter)
but I-I...

I'm just worried
she's just gonna leave,

'cause that's usually
what happens.
(laughter)

- No, she will not go anywhere,
we programmed her not to.
- Okay.

- Hi. Welcome to your first
salsa lesson. Ready?

Here we go.

One, two, three...

Five, six, seven.

One, two, three,
five, six, seven.

Good.
(music)

- He's actually now doing salsa.

- Am I really?
- Yeah. You really are.

- It's funny,
'cause it just feels like
I'm just rocking back and forth.

- That's exactly
how it's supposed to feel.

- And, for me,
that might be the problem.

I can learn the steps,

But it just...
It just feels like...

I'm kind of just going
through the motions.

I don't get any joy from it.

Y'know, in that moment,

I might as well be doing
my taxes.

But maybe that's because
some of us are too focused

On, y'know, the external,
physical aspect of dancing.

The performance.

Maybe we just have to go deeper
than that.

(percussive music)

(singing in native language)

- Dance,
from an indigenous perspective,

It's more an expression
of the spirit

That is exercised
through the physical body.

There's no... Sexualized...

Behaviours of any kind.

It really is a discovery
of yourself.

Some indigenous individuals
who are born and raised
in urban settings

Have no connection
to their first nations.

I teach my students
to reconnect

Through pow wow dancing.

Dance is one of those very -

In my opinion -
crucial components

That define a person
within their culture.

It's a very profound experience.

- I am cree from moose factory.

- When I first came to the city,
I was 16.

You can get, you know,

Kind of swallowed up
by the city,

Because there's so much
temptation and distractions,

For a very long time,
I was very disconnected.

I'm just starting to... Y'know,

Look more into my culture.

- How many cones have you put
on your dress this time so far?

- Uh, close to 500?
- That's a lot.
- Yeah.

- What I've done is,
I've created a program

That teaches individuals

The various different stages
of regalia-making...

...For powwow dancing.

We're going to put the row cones
at the bottom,

Followed by a row of this fringe

On top of the cones.

- I chose this class
because when I go to a pow wow,

I am just overcome with, like,
emotion,

And I want to get over that.

Like, I want to feel
like I'm a part of it,

Instead of just someone
that is visiting it.

- Oftentimes, students go
to a first nation up north

To dance for the very first time
in the circle.

And sometimes
they will be hesitant

To complete their outfits,

Because once they've completed
the regalia,

Then there's this anxiety,
this understanding that:

Oh, my goodness,
you're on to the next step.

Now I have to go dance.
I don't want to go dance.

Not knowing if - and I've heard
this term before -

If I'm... "indian enough."

- If I, like,
don't do the steps right,

There's where I feel
like I'll be judged.

- So it becomes that cycle
of, like...

"what do I do now?" right? So...

- Cycle of fear.
- It's the cycle of fear, yeah.

- This fear of dancing...

...It's real.

But it's also kind of...
Irrational.

Who cares what others think?

I mean, what's the worst thing
that can happen,

If you just go out there
and do your thing?

(classical music)

Well, there's this.

- I decided to tell the story

Of one of the most fascinatingly
bizarre events
in recorded human history.

It was in one of strasbourg's
narrow medieval streets,

Like this one,
that it seems to have begun.

It began with one woman,
frau troffea.

One day in the middle of July,
in 1518,

She steps outside of her house
and then she begins dancing.

(classical music)

She dances all the way
through that day,

Rests at night;
the next morning,

She resumes,
and she does this day after day.

Her feet would've been bleeding,
they would've been lacerated,

And yet she carries on and on.

It's quite clear that this
is an involuntary dance.

Very rapidly, they start
arriving at the conclusion

That she's been cursed
or possessed.

Within about a week,
more people have been consumed

By this same irresistible urge
to dance.

This is a really intensive
dancing.

They just go on and on,
hour after hour.

And you could imagine
what a diabolical,

Bizarre spectacle
this is creating.

Now, the chronicles disagree
on how many people,

But it's likely
that as many as 400 people,

By the end of July,

Had been drawn into
this irresistible urge
to dance.

That is when people
started dying.

We don't know how many died.

Speculations vary.

One report we have,
written by a merchant,

Who's living outside strasbourg
at exactly this time,

Says 15 people a day.

- What's your theory on what
lead to this strange event?

- In my belief,
there's only one theory
that really fits the facts.

This is an extreme example
of what we might call
mass hysteria...

- When I looked up
the definition of mass hysteria,

It said: "a condition
in which a large group of people

Exhibit similar feelings
and actions."

Including excitement.

Which could explain
my childhood dancing.

The environment may have
contributed to that, right?

- Yeah.
- The environment
is really important, no?

- You used to love dancing
and engaging with your family

And boogying around
when you were
a very small child.

- Yeah.
- Having said that,
I do wonder what would happen...

It's an interesting
philosophical question.

If somebody was brought up
in complete isolation,

Whether they would then
still have that urge to dance.

- You know, the dancing
that I was doing
at parties at home

Were a lot about showing off,
in a way.

- Yeah.
- It's like I wanted
to be part of the family.

And they would applaud,
they would applaud wildly,

And it was very gratifying.

- Yeah,
and that's very powerful.

- But when you get
to the high-school situation,
there's no more applause.

- Yeah.
- It's the opposite, right?

- It's the complete opposite,
yeah, because suddenly,

People aren't necessarily
supportive of you doing it.

It suddenly becomes
about being in the cool gang,

Not being in the cool gang.

- By the time
I reached grade 11...

...Something had changed.

(heavy rock music)

My attitude.

My lifestyle.

I started going to class
less and less.

It was just too boring.

Eventually,
I dropped out altogether

To front a band
called barbaric fantasy.

It was all about partying.

I became a stereotype.

The dropout metal-head stoner

That's just too cool to dance.

(rock music stops)

But then again,
the world of dance
is just full of stereotypes.

(soft music)

- Black girls who can't dance.

Black girls who won't dance.

Black girls who pop lock.

Black girls who clap hands.

♪ black girls who got groove ♪

♪ black girls who got moves ♪

♪ black girls who dance hard ♪

♪ black girls who cry hard ♪

♪ oh ooh she can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she just can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she just cannot dance ♪

♪ black girls who read books ♪

♪ black girls who write books ♪

I wrote a song called
black girls who can't dance.

The message is that...

Black women...

Are dynamic

And all...
Kinds of people and...

Some are gonna love to dance
and some aren't.

♪ look at her funny
but she don't see don't care ♪

♪ don't stop don't look down
till we get there ♪

♪ black girls you can't see ♪

♪ black girls you can't be ♪

♪ black girls who grow up ♪

♪ black girls who get free ♪

♪ oh ooh she can't dance ♪

I grew up as the only black girl
in the classroom,

One of very few in my school.

I didn't dance as a child.
I was really shy.

I don't think there are any
good dancers in my family.

The expectation for, uh...

For black folks and black women

Is to be a particular kind
of dancer,

And to be good in a certain way.

And I'm just not the person
that, you know,

Someone's gonna see in the...
In a club and say, "wow.

You're a good dancer."

♪ oh ooh she can't dance
ooh she just can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she can't dance ♪

- Do you feel judged for that
at public events?
- Yes.

It happened to me recently.

Everyone was, you know,
around me and...

And sort of, like:
"come on, dance."

And I just didn't. I couldn't,
you know,

Because it's just...

It's just not...

There is an expectation
in their mind,

And... And it's not me and,
um...

And, you know, I...

I just... I can't do it.

♪ no matter how hard I try ♪

♪ I never was
what they expected ♪

♪ never not at all... ♪

♪ I never fit
into their boxes ♪

♪ they were just too small ♪

♪ oh oh oh ♪

I want to dance
even when it's uncomfortable.

And I want to let... Go.

♪ ooh she can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she just can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she can't dance
ooh... ♪

And I'll just keep trying.

And maybe it'll become easier
to do.

♪ she just can't dance
ooh she can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she just cannot dance ♪

♪ ooh she can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she just can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she just cannot dance ♪

♪ she can't dance ♪

♪ oh she just can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she can't dance ♪

♪ ooh she just cannot dance ♪♪

- The desire for some
to keep trying to connect
with dancing

Almost seems like a...
A powerful human drive.

(trilling)

Sure, animals dance,

But the idea
is that they basically do it
to attract a mate.

And we do, too,
but as far as we know,

We humans,

We may be the only species
in the universe

To actually dance
for pure pleasure.

- Dance is a fundamental
human activity.

Everything from our heartbeat
to the way our brain works,

The way that our limbs work,

That rhythm we have in our life
is dance.

- But if dancing is really
just a human thing,

How do you explain this?

- If you think
about what it means

For something to be living,

It goes back to the idea
of it moving.

This is aristotle.
He says basically something
that self-propels itself

Is what we can call
something that's living.

So that doesn't mean
it's just biological.

It can also be...
Completely artificial.

- What's totem doing now?

- Yeah, so right now,
it's running like a...

Neural model,
so you actually see these things
as like neurons bursting.

It's actually a mathematical
model of consciousness
in many ways.

Totem is a kind
of artificial entity

That has cameras that look at...

The change of movement
around it.

And every time you move,
it detects changes--

- So it's interacting
with movement.

- It's interacting
with movement in that way.

- So it's essentially dancing
with those around it.

- Yeah.

- So if you're trying
to replicate humans
in a machine...

- Of course.
- ...It makes sense
that you teach it to dance.

- Of course. Absolutely.

- I'm no expert,

But it seems that interacting
with the environment

Is exactly what dancing is.

It's just that in totem's case,

He doesn't look human,

And his dancing
certainly doesn't.

But this here,

That's a different story.

Who or what is alter?

- He's a new species,

New artificial species.

- What makes alter special
is that he's armed

With a battery of motion sensors

And facial-recognition cameras,

Which means he can adapt

To whatever dance partner.

Why teach a robot
to improvise dance?

- Well, because we don't want
robots to mimic something

Which human beings do.

We need something
that's coming from embodiment
of himself, right?

This authentic movement
from alter

Is his own one.

It's his invention, not us.

That's something
that we want to see.

- Do you think
you're ever gonna get to a point
where you can teach a robot

To want to dance
and they like to dance?

- If the robot can have
a metacognition,

Or a metafeeling,
then that's possible.

- So, eventually,
alter may have legs...

And be able to fully dance.

- Yeah.
- And if alter fully dances,

It will be original dancing.

- Right. Right.
- As unique as a fingerprint.
- Yeah.

This is the ultimate goal.

- It's not lost on me

That if robots suddenly start
to love to dance,

That will actually make them
more human than me.

But then... Maybe one day,

They too will go to high school.

And wake up asking themselves:

Where did that love go?

And did I ever really have it?

And if I did,

Where did it begin?

Where does dancing begin?

- I observed
that one-year-old children

Would very often
spontaneously move to music.

And that's really
where the idea started.

Infants offer
a fantastic opportunity to study

What might be there
from the start,

What might perhaps even be...
Hardwired or inborn.

Because, you know,

With a two-
or three-year-old child,

You don't know anymore.
Is it learned?

Did they observe it
in their parents
or in their environment?

But with four-,
five-month-old infants,
that's unlikely.

Okay, ready?

One, two, three.

(music to the safety dance
playing)

♪ we can dance if we want to ♪

♪ we can leave your friends
behind ♪

♪ 'cause your friends
don't dance
and if they don't dance ♪

♪ well they're are no friends
of mine ♪

♪ I say we can go
where we want to ♪

♪ a place
where they will never find ♪

♪ and we can act like we come
from out of this world ♪

♪ leave the real one far behind
and we can dance ♪

Dansez!

Obviously, we didn't want
the parents to influence
the baby' behaviour,

So the parents could not hear
the music.

They were just there
to hold the baby.

♪ ah we can go when we want to
the night is young and so am I ♪

♪ and we can dress real neat
from our hats to our feet ♪

♪ and surprise 'em
with the victory cry ♪

We looked
at the baby's behaviour

And the coding
when they produced
rhythmic behaviours.

♪ you can act real rude
and totally removed

♪ and I can act
like an imbecile ♪

And we had a three-dimensional
motion-tracking system

That allows you to match,
or map,

The time of the baby's movements

On the musical time
with the greatest precision.

And so that's really
where we could say:

Are they in time with music?
Are they not in time with music?

♪ everybody's taking a chance
a-a-ance ♪

We had a range.

When you could, in a sense, say:

Some were good
and some were bad.

The least successful was a baby
that wouldn't do anything.

♪ oh it's the safety dance ♪♪
(song fading)

In most cases,
they actually did react.

And I think
that was the first big surprise.

I mean, the babies,
they were not told what to do.

They were just played this music
and then spontaneously,

They would start to move
to the music.

(mid-tempo music)

- Do you remember anything
about being in that experiment?
- No, I don't.

My eyes just...

And I was reaching for you.

- I just remember the woman
asked me

Not to interfere with my face,

So I must stay like this,
not to interact.

It was very difficult for me.

(chuckling)
(speaking french)

- When we told him
that he was involved

In a movie years ago,
he asked:

"what?
You made money out of me,

And you never told me?" so...
(laughter)

- That's... Pretty much in time.
It's, uh...

It's amazing, you know,
given your very young age.

And...
And that is very expressive.

You got if not the highest,
one of the highest,

Because it was so original,
this hand movement, you know?

- What is your relationship
with dancing today?

- Well, when I was in my...
Teenage time,

I was not as cool about dancing
as I actually am.

- Do you remember
what caused you
to suddenly think

It was cool to dance?

- Well, I don't care as much
as I did about the...

What the others will think
about me.

- She was not moving
as much as other babies,

But, zélie, you were in between,
uh, listening to the music

And being curious
about what you were hearing,
and at the same time,

Feeling some sort of urge
to move with it.

So, like, both.

- Do you dance now?

- I don't really dance
in front of people,

Because I feel stupid,
I feel like my movements
are weird,

And sometimes I can be
self-conscious about it.

- These are all
different movements.

They don't repeat.

There is no indication there
that there is anything...
Uh, you know,

Kind of aligning with the music.

- The take-away for me
on all that research

Is that if there is
such a thing
as a dancing gene,

Maybe not all of us get it.

And like these teens
and myself,

Whether or not you're wild
for dancing
when you're really young

Doesn't mean you still will
or won't be when you grow up.

Which just shows how complicated
this whole thing is.

No one can say for sure

When dancing started
on this planet.

Some say as long
as 30,000 years ago...

...In the heart of the world's
most ancient civilizations.

When I first decided
to come here,

I was told africa's full
of cultures steeped in dancing.

(up-tempo music)

It's woven into the very fabric
of their traditions.

You're never gonna find
a chorophobe there.

And they were right.

I found two.

(up-tempo music)

- What would you do
with that kind of a gift?

(singing)

(indistinct chatter)

(laughter)

- Do your kids dance?
- Yes.

Are you ready?

- Yes.
- What's it called again?

- A million dreams.
- A million dreams.

- No, a bizillion dreams.

- A bizillion dreams? Okay.
(laughing)

(indistinct chatter)

I definitely do not want

To pass my fear of dancing
along to them.

♪ a million dreams ♪

And they love to dance...

In a way that I admire.

And wish that I could emulate.

Bravo! Bravo!

- Thank you!
(indistinct chatter)

- How about your husband?
Does he like to dance?

(laughing)
- he maybe hates dancing
more than I do.

- What did you guys do
for your wedding?

- I couldn't imagine
how you could have a wedding
without a dance.

- So what did you wind up doing?
- We ended up eloping.

- Why do you hate dancing
so much?

- Yeah, I think it's something
that I just never really felt.

Like, I've never felt compelled
to it.

Music doesn't... Uh,
cause me to want to dance.

Um... And, y'know, frankly,

Looking at 95% of the people
who do dance, I...

Would prefer
not to look like that.

- Is that one of the reasons
why you guys got together?

- Yeah, that's why.
That was the only thing.

That's why I married him,
so I wouldn't have to dance.

(indistinct chatter)

- If you have kids, it's easy,
because there's no expectation
that you're going to be...

Dancing all night because
you're chasing children around,

Putting them to bed
or you're leaving at 8:00
or whatever it is anyway.

- Please don't drop the pie.

- So the fringe benefit
of having kids

Is that it gives you an out
for dancing.

- It's the only reason
I had them.

(indistinct chatter)

- ..Bring too much stuff?

- So have you given up
altogether on the idea

Of dancing at weddings
or at clubs
with the rest of your friends?

- I think so.

I think even if someone
taught me how,

I don't... I don't think now,
at this age, I could...
I could do it.

- Okay, are we good?
- Just a few more bags.
- Oh, my god.

- And yet now you're telling me
that once a year,

You do, in your own way,

Get your groove on.

- Yes.
(chuckling)

Everyone good?
Everyone has shoes?

- And we have to drive
an hour and a half out of town
to get there.

- Yeah.

- Turns out
eric's also found a way

To deal with his fear
of dancing.

- I remember walking home
and just being so excited

That I had discovered
this thing.

That comfort zone
and that unconscious state,

And that, uh...

...Y'know, enjoyment.

A couple friends and I
have been running
this weekly event,

And it's a fairly radical idea.

- For me,
it's kind of cathartic,

Almost like a therapy,

'cause you don't care about
what other people are doing
when you're doing it,

And you don't care
about how you look
to other people.

- You kind of get
into your own head space.

And it's just how your body
is responding to the music.

- In this basement,

Eric and other chorophobes
have found a way

To get back into dancing.

(rock music)

In total darkness.

(rock music)

- Darkness is such an equalizer.

- With the lights off,
it's no longer a visual event.

It takes on, you know,
more abstract meaning.

- You're unable
to perceive others,

And you're not being perceived.

(rock music)

- The first couple of songs,
I was, like:
This is very weird.

- When I first walked in,
I didn't realize
how dark it was gonna be.

I thought I was dancing
next to someone, but I wasn't.
It was a table.

(rock music)

- I struggle a lot with anxiety,

So I think coming here...

Is a way that I can do
something social

That doesn't involve words.

- The dark dance
is the first time

I've danced regularly
in any capacity.

(music fading)

- With this pow wow
you're going to,

How long has it been
since you've been back up north?

- At least, like, 20 years.

When I was younger,
I was placed in foster care.

I was, like, in... Like,

At least 10 or more
foster homes.

Non-indigenous.

I don't think they were trying
to make me fit in their culture;

They just didn't know anything
about my culture.

- When we were flying
to thunder bay today,

Aileen was sharing how...

Her childhood
was not so... Rosy.

And I explained to her

How you are the master
of your storytelling.

That you...
Are able to rewrite...

...Your new reality

Into something positive.

- I didn't have the opportunity
to do this when I was younger.

It was something that hurt me.

And, uh, now that I'm older,

It's... Just, like,
I can give it to myself,

So why not?
(chuckling)

(indistinct chatter)

Also... I'm happy that I get
to share this with my daughters.

And they get to, like, be...

Welcomed into the pow wow
family.

(polka music)

(clapping)

- So your solution for dancing
is polka.

(lindsay laughing)
- yeah.

I really love polka.

It's the only music
that I can dance to.

- Why do you think that is?

- Well,
the music's really happy,

Um, it feels very festive,
it feels really easy to do.

- Do you like polka.
- Can't stand it.

- And yet, you dance to it.
- Yeah.

I wouldn't do it
for anybody else.

- Do you think the costume
makes it easier
for you to dance?

- Yeah, I think it's almost like
a... A bit of armour.

Like, you're protecting yourself
a little bit.

And I do feel
like I'm oktoberfest lindsay,

As opposed
to just regular lindsay
who doesn't dance.

(cheering)

(crowd cheering)

- Umpapa music - surprise,
surprise -

Isn't really my thing.

But then again,

Neither is dancing in the dark.

I don't get why I would want
to do that.

Like, I don't know
what I'm supposed to feel.

- Well, don't...
Shut your brain off
a little bit.

I think you're thinking
too much.

- There is a beauty in...

Letting go.

- I kind of resent the fact
that society

Expects me to dance.

Like... It's almost like
this is an act of rebellion

For me not to dance.

- I think
you expect you to dance.
- I expect me to dance?

- Yeah. Well, why are you here
if you're not expecting yourself
to dance?

- Well, clearly I feel
like I need to be fixed
on some level.

- Perhaps there's a certain type
of flow-like state

We might want to get into...

Where we'd lose
that sense of consciousness.

- It sounds like you're saying
that someone like me

Would have to almost, like,
lose their mind for a second.

- Yeah.

- As I'm listening
to all these people
talking about letting go...

...That's kind of tapped
into something for me.

Since I was a kid,

Have I truly allowed myself
to fully let go?

Look, I'm happy just trying
to understand

Why I don't dance anymore.

I never really set out
to fix that.

But if I was to let go,

To lose my mind
for a second...

...I'd have to be alone.

So to tune out,
I put on vr goggles.

So I couldn't see
the world outside.

And I told my crew
to go as far away as possible.

Can you see me from up there?

- Well, you're pretty small
in the frame,
but I see you clearly.

- Okay. Okay.
- Yeah.

Okay, I'm gonna put music on.

- Okay, good luck.
- Alright.

(dance music)

♪ time was drifting ♪

♪ this rock had got to roll ♪

♪ so I hit the road
and made my getaway ♪

♪ restless feeling
really got a hold ♪

♪ I started searching
for a better way ♪

♪ and I kept on looking
for a sign
in the middle of the night ♪

♪ but I couldn't see the light ♪

♪ no I couldn't see the light ♪

♪ I kept on looking for a way
to take me through the night ♪

♪ couldn't get it right ♪

♪ I couldn't get it right ♪♪

Ahem. Oh.

Ah, fuck.

I fell.

- So did you let yourself loose
with the music?

- Yeah, I think
a little bit too loose.

I thought I was closer to land
and then suddenly I...
I hit a chunk of rock,

And I thought I was gonna fall
on the ground,

But I fell in the water.
I'm fuckin' drenched.

And not only that,
but I'm covered in goose shit.

(cameraman laughing)

I know you guys are pissing
in your pants right now.
(laughter)

I'm having trouble...
(inhaling)

...When I breathe,
it kind of hurts.

I don't think I cracked a rib,
but...

'cause I landed on a rock.

- Just before you fell,
how did it feel

To let yourself go...
On the music?

- Fuck,
these are covered in shit.

Um...

Y'know, I love music,
so I was really into the song.

The sun's on my face.

It's a beautiful environment.

I enjoyed it for a second.

But did I feel...

Is it enough, what I felt,

To make me want to jump up
every time there's music
at a place?

Um... I don't know.

So what's your personal view
of dancing?

- In terms of enjoying it,
I don't.

Uh, I've never...
Never enjoyed dancing.

I've always found it, um,
really quite uncomfortable.

- I don't like dancing,
so, y'know, like...

...I just know dance music
that would kind of, uh,

Compel me to dance.

- I don't dance.

- I only start dancing
when I get really... Y'know,

In an altered state
of consciousness.

- When you're drunk.
- Yeah, right, when I'm drunk.

- I-I-I rarely say this,

But when I was really,
really young,

I was, uh,
I was a bit overweight,

And I was a bit shy.

When there was music
playing at my house,

There was a big party
going on at my house,

I used to hide in the bathroom
and dance.

- Uh, yeah, personally,
over the years,

Um, I've had, uh,
some issues around that.

Um, I've...
I've worked through that.

- When I first started dancing,
it was because, in high school,

My boyfriend invited me
to go,

And there were two group classes
I was supposed to attend,

But I completely missed
the first one,

'cause I was just sitting
in my car,
terrified to go inside.

- I went to college
not having danced a single step.

And most painful memory was, uh,
going to high-school prom,

And I said, "well,
I'm going to the prom,
but I'm not dancing.

I always thought that dancing
was just not my thing,

And there's no way
I could do it.

- Have you ever heard
of chorophobia?
- No.

- It's the fear of dancing.
- Right. Okay.

- So I'm a chorophobe.
- Me, too.

- Are you a choro--
- yeah, he is.

- How do you feel if I tell you

That there are hundreds
of thousands of people,

Actually all over the world,

That have the same fear
of dancing?

- I'm a little nervous.

But, like, y'know,
I'm actually doing something

That I've always wanted to do
and...

There's really no going back.

- At one point today, she felt:
Oh, my goodness, it's time,

And I don't know
if I can do this.

- I know
that this is where I belong,

And...

I just need to get over
the fear of, like...

Um, basically...

Just dancing and just, like,

Giving myself... To it.

(singing)

(singing and drumming)

(feedback)
- testing.

One of my students is here
today,

And we're here to talk
about the fear of dancing.

Some of you may
not understand that entirely,

But as a first-time dancer
myself,

When I was nine years old,

I was very scared to dance
at the pow wow for the fear
of making a mistake...

...For the fear of being judged.

And so my dear friend aileen...
Can make her way over here

Into our circle.

- Whoo!
(singing and drumming)

Oh, my god.

Yeah.

Oh.

(soft music)

♪ the speed of love returning ♪

♪ to my depraved heart

♪ like a song ♪

♪ carries the memory still ♪

♪ you waited
till the river froze ♪

♪ to come and find me ♪

♪ with your voice ♪

♪ speaking the words
of my throat ♪

♪ that dream you dream ♪

♪ of falling... ♪

- I'm aware of the feeling
that people have
when they dance.

They are taken over
by something.

Which is a tribal connection,
and joy.

And I know I'm missing out.

♪ we were never forced to love ♪

♪ you would have to lose
your mind ♪

♪ you would have to lose
your mind ♪

♪ you would have to lose
your mind ♪

(phone ringing)

- Hello?
- Hi. Francine? It's michael.

- Hey, michael.
- So I'll see you at 2:00.

- Okay, I'll see you then.

♪ when icarus was falling... ♪

- When I danced on that beach,

Sure, it didn't turn out
exactly as planned,

But I did feel something.

But that was me alone.

Would I get that same feeling

If I tried to really let go
with someone else?

♪ woke up in her bed
last night ♪

♪ her features were gold ♪

So what if I went back...

...To where dancing stopped
for me?

It's been a long time.

I had a locker right here.

I think...

...2412.

I think it's 2412.

And what if I called a woman

I secretly wanted to ask
to dance back in grade 9,

But just couldn't?

And what if she agreed
to meet me?

♪ you would have to lose
your mind ♪

I'm a little freaked out.
(chuckling)

I'm really, uh, not feeling
very comfortable
about the whole thing.

♪ you would have to lose
your mind ♪

(music)

And what if,

When we finally did dance,

I didn't get the same feeling
I had on that beach?

Or back when I was a kid?

Being cured
at the end of a film,

That's a hollywood ending.

♪ your mind... ♪

But maybe the next time
an opportunity to dance
does come up...

...I will.

Or maybe I won't.

♪ your mind... ♪

And what if... That was okay?

♪ your mind... ♪

♪ your mind... ♪♪

(disco music)

♪ pump up the jam
pump it up ♪

♪ while you feet are stompin'
and the jam is pumpin' ♪

♪ look at here
the crowd is jumpin' ♪

♪ pump it up
a little more ♪

♪ get the party going
on the dance floor ♪

♪ seek us
that's where the party's at ♪

♪ and you'll find out
if you're too bad ♪

♪ I don't want
a place to stay ♪

♪ get your booty
on the floor tonight
make my day ♪

Are you gonna do
a little dance for me?

- Dance? Like, yeah.
(laughter)

Yeah, that's enough.
(laughing)

- Give me your best move.
- Oh, my god.

♪ make my day make my day ♪
(laughing)

I really need alcohol now.
(laughing)

- Would you do a little dance
for me right now?

- No chance.
- There is no chance?

- Absolutely none.

- Stephane's gonna dance.
Woo-hoo! Woo!

You have fear of dancing?
(laughing)

♪ and the jam is pumpin' ♪

♪ look at here
the crowd is jumpin' ♪

I'm asking everybody I interview
to do a little dance for me.
(fry laughing)

So are you interested
in doing that?

- I'll do a little finger dance.
(chuckling)

- Alright.
- There you are.
- Okay.

♪ get your booty
on the floor tonight ♪

♪ make my day ♪
- before we danced,

You said you were at a 10
on feeling uncomfortable.

So where would you say
you are now?

- Uh, nine and a half.
(laughing)

♪ make my day ♪

♪ make my make my
make make my day ♪♪

♪ make my day
make my day ♪♪

Subtitling: Difuze