Does size matter?

When new teachers qualify they usually feel very excited about starting a weekly class. They tell their friends, distribute fliers, place adverts, hire a hall, and plan a wonderful vivencia ready for their new Biodanza dancers. Initially there may be a few people that come, and in some weeks more will arrive. It is with commitment and a reputation that a class builds.  We want to encourage you to keep going even when the numbers are low, this is how we all begin!

Simone Aparecida Noronha (In her monograph Psychotherapeutic Biodanza (opens Pdf in Brazilian Portuguese, see p.20), talks about the impact of group size and the different kinds of issues that Biodanza teachers face when facilitating classes. She also offers some advice.

We would love to hear from our teachers in the UK  about your views on the size of a group, how your classes have grown and what makes them such a success – are you willing to share?

Very small groups

Regarding very small groups of 3 to 6 people, Simone shares the following observations (note that a class of 2 is not classed as a group)

• The presence of all participants becomes vital for the existence of the group, as the absence of two or more in the same session will compromise its functioning
• Many dances and exercises will have to be left out, as they can only be done with a larger number of people. Therefore, participants will not have the opportunity to access the inner experiences induced by such exercises
• Some songs can become ‘too long’ for certain exercises
• The generation of some emotions becomes difficult. Joy, for example, is unlikely to escalate in a very small group. Instead, we tend to observe a sense of disappointment and the tendency is for the group’s vitality to become deflated

Simone believes that “it is possible to run groups of this size, provided that this is done sporadically, for a short period of time, or for a particular purpose, since the situations described above limit and undermine the work of these groups. The likelihood is that such groups will not survive in the long term.”

She goes on to say that we, as facilitators, should be aware these facts, and seek creative ways to increase the group’s size without forgetting the importance of adopting a step by step approach, especially when planning to merge a very small group of beginners with a medium or large sized more advanced group.

Small groups

With a small group of 6 to 10 participants we have the possibility of facilitating and maintaining a regular group. However, the risk here is that the group becomes addicted to itself, quickly closing up and losing the beauty in Biodanza, which is the possibility of dealing with the new and unpredictable side of life that occurs when dancing with different people. For these reasons, it’s important for the group to remain open to new members. The recommendation is to focus on increasing the size of the group.

Medium sized groups

Medium sized groups with 10 to 20 participants are often happier, with more vitality. We can propose all the exercises, and people can experience the vivencias triggered by them. The absence of some people doesn’t have a significant impact on the functioning of the session, and the choice of music is not compromised by its length. Medium sized groups promote friendships and good levels of trust and mutual support. It’s a comforting, cozy group, which makes us miss the vivencias and encounters. Its effect impacts other relationships and increases people’s ability to make genuine human connections outside the regular group. In addition, it makes it possible for the facilitator to better understand the needs and limitations of each person, and work them more intensely in the group. I believe this is the most suitable number of participants for the psychotherapeutic process to occur via Biodanza.

Large groups and very big groups

In large groups of 20 to 30 participants and in very big groups with over 30 people teachers can propose all exercises and the absence of participants doesn’t interfere with the facilitation of the session. In general, these groups are more fun – all types of emotion circulate and can reach everyone. On the other hand, a scattering and higher participants’ turnover may occur. The vulnerabilities and difficulties of each participant can remain hidden or go unnoticed by the facilitator. I believe that it might be harder to deepen the vivencias and attain significant psychotherapeutic results in these groups, as they tend to become more playful.

Conclusion

Simone came to the conclusion that the determining factor to define the number of participants in a Biodanza group is the objective of the particular session. For example, in situations where there is no continuity, this number can be unlimited, as in the case of opening or closing tasters in Congresses, double-vivencias, workshops in companies and one-off tasters open to the general public. In these cases, however, the “taster” is not a “session” – Simone uses the term session to refer to regular group gatherings where continuity is implied.