Last week, I watched a designer introduce himself through his work and then mention his theatre company, which seemed unrelated. I felt so comfortable in that environment that, when it was my turn, I said:
“I’m a scientist, I work in communication, and, fun fact, I’m a dancer.”
That interaction made me wonder: what connection does dancing have to my communication career? Illustrating in my free time might seem more directly relevant, since those skills also help me create scientific visualisations. But dancing?
As adults, we often gravitate towards things we are already competent at. Work especially rewards expertise. The confidence we gain from our knowledge and skills can also lead us down a comfortable path, leaving less room to experiment or think differently.
In dance classes, I learn new movements and combinations of ones we have practised before. Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and think I look ridiculous. Through repetition, I discover that a movement does not always have to make me look good. Sometimes its purpose is to express something. When I freestyle, I try to bring that understanding into a moment where I stop overthinking and let myself move.
Those moments of what am I even doing? feel very different from academic or industry work, where we are generally expected to know what we are doing.
Dancing gives me a space where the objective does not have to be becoming an expert, making money, gaining recognition, or adding something to my CV. I have watched people improve simply because they keep coming back to have fun. In my case, I want to feel freer in my body and more connected to the music I am listening to or the idea I want to express.
Dancing also makes me feel vulnerable. I can understand a movement in my head and still struggle to make my body do it. Something does not work. I try again. It still feels awkward. Then, weeks later, my body suddenly does something that previously seemed impossible.
And sometimes, while freestyling, I feel my movements getting closer to what I had imagined. That connection between intention and expression makes me feel free.
So, how does this connect to my career?
Dancing has helped me move beyond limits I had set for myself. It has given me confidence and helped me connect with people wherever I go. It also reminds me what it feels like to learn something unfamiliar, when an instruction that seems obvious to someone experienced does not make sense to you yet.
I recognise that feeling in communication. Knowing a subject well can make it difficult to remember which steps someone else needs explained. Dancing keeps putting me back in that position: watching, trying, asking questions, and slowly finding my own understanding.
It also gives me practice in expressing an idea in more than one way. A movement can change with the music, the space, or the feeling I want to communicate. I bring that same curiosity to my work when I look for a visual or a story that will make an idea connect with someone.
I do not go to dance classes to become better at my job or with the goal of making new friends. I go because I enjoy dancing. But I like that something I do for myself can quietly influence how I learn, communicate, and relate to other people.
