Demystifying Dance: Unlocking Joy Through Movement and Self Expression

So many people don't dance, and I don't understand it because it is actually our most natural form of movement. We dance before we walk. The proof is in the pudding. You just put music on around babies, and they'll just naturally bounce and groove to the music. No one taught them how to do it. And looking at a video of a baby is no different than you. That was you when you were little. Everybody moves. It's in our DNA. And we are actually programmed to groove to music. Foreign. Hey, badass. Welcome to Keeping It Real, the podcast where we ditch the nonsense, say it like it is, and redefine what it means to feel good in your body and your life. I'm Misty Tripoli, creator of the Groove Method, and I'm here to help you move, dance, and live authentically and unapologetically. So if you're ready to break free from the societal expectations, embrace your truth, find your own unique groove. You are in the right place. So let's keep it real, let's keep it wild, and let's keep it moving. The truth is, everybody can dance, and so many people are afraid to dance. Why do I call myself the Groove Guru? Well, it's not because I'm the best dancer on the planet. It's because I know that everyone has a unique groove within them. And I know that I can guarantee that if you follow some very simple, basic ideas and concepts that I know, I can absolutely guarantee that you will discover your groove and how your body moves, and you'll start to feel confident and comfortable with literally just getting your groove on anywhere. Which means you're just willing to let your body move and groove to the music. And not just that, because, you know, everybody kind of does that. Like, you go to a wedding and you see people dancing. You know, you've got people that are just letting it loose and having the damn of their life, and they don't give a shit. And then you've got a lot of people that are actually not as comfortable with dance, and they tend to sit out. They're afraid of what people think. They're afraid of getting it wrong. They're not good at dancing. I mean, there's so many reasons why people don't dance, and it is literally a global epidemic, especially as people get older. Because if you haven't given yourself permission to dance when you were younger, you know, you get older and you just don't dance. And you just fucking don't dance anymore, or you never did. And then when we get a lot older, it's more about restriction. So it's either fear or the restriction of your body. And those are the only two reasons why people don't dance. And so many people don't dance. And I don't understand it, because it is actually our most natural form of movement. We dance before we walk. You can go look up the fricking science. I don't care. The proof is in the pudding. You just put music on around babies, and they'll just naturally bounce and groove to the music. No one taught them how to do it. And looking at a video of a baby is no different than you. That was you when you were little. Everybody moves. It's like it's in our DNA. And we are actually programmed to groove to music because music is so powerful. And people know this when you hear music that just hits your soul and it's just like getting punched in the gut. Some music hits you. And everyone has different styles of music that they like and that inspires them to move. So I want to help people move past in such a fucking simple way. It's so ridiculously simple. And this is why I call myself the Guru. Because I have been around the world, I don't know how many times, leading and grooving people and introducing themselves to themselves on the dance floor. And it's amazing to me to see how easily it is to help people move past the fear. And it's the method that I teach, which also is an dance experience that's you can actually go take a live class and actually have that experience. And we've got licensed facilitators all around the world. We've got hundreds of facilitators teaching this around the world. And all of the facilitators bring their own unique, fabulous energy to the groove. But one thing that's super important that people need to know is when you find a class, what to prepare, what does it mean if you're gonna go take a live class? There's a lot of videos I have online that can get you prepped. So when you walk in, you're not like, okay, this is the weirdest thing I've ever seen. What? Why is everyone dancing like this? Meaning that it's not your typical class. Like, you're not going to go in, and it's not us in lines following each other and everyone trying to copy each other. And, you know, follow a teacher and fail epically, like most people do, because most people can't follow choreography. Even though dance is still their most natural form of movement. Choreography is difficult and intense, intimidating and Most people can't do it. So you're not going to see that on a groove dance floor. What you're going to experience is everyone is going to unite. And this is what the facilitator's role is, is to unite everyone in a really common, simple movement. Nothing complex. It doesn't matter what foot you're on, on the right, the left, it doesn't matter. We don't care what direction you're going. We don't care. Like, you get to make all the decisions. But the key to all of it is that we were actually uniting in a simple. So the movement could be as simple as walking. And this is why I say if people can walk, they can groove. And actually, you don't even have to walk. You could actually sit in a chair and get your groove on. But for the groove dance floor experience, you can. I put chairs around when we teach so that people can see that you can sit down whenever you want. You really just manage yourself. That's what's super important. But when you go there, you just agree that you're gonna do the same move as everybody else. But you take this really simple rhythm or movement and you get to just do it completely your own way and start to discover your body. And the facilitator's there to help guide you and offer you some ideas and suggestions. Because when we don't know how to dance, we don't think we know how to dance. We tend to not use our arms. We're afraid to take up space. You know, we feel awkward at first because you don't really feel like you have a vocabulary in your body of dance movement. But that's where it doesn't really matter, because as you start to give yourself more and more permission to be like, oh, what does it feel like while I'm walking around everybody and doing, you know, walking backwards if I want. But what happens when I pick my arms up and I let my arms do something? And when you start to discover, and this is part of what you experience is you'll hear a lot of, you can't get it wrong. It's impossible. You do it your own way. You know, you are unique. You should absolutely do this move differently than anyone. So don't copy anyone, don't follow anyone, but everyone stay connected in the same move. And why that's so important is because the groove is this super deep, delicious connection that we all get into. And it's awesome. We're all in the same flow, we're all in the same groove. Together, everyone is doing it absolutely their own authentic, creative way in a way that makes their body feel good. And that's another thing. This Groove is absolute therapy for the body. And not just your body, but your spirit, your soul, who you are as a person. Because I've actually heard that authenticity is actually a higher vibration than love, which that hits me really hard because I do believe that. I believe that when we trust ourselves and we let ourselves be authentic, there's almost a fearlessness. This high vibration comes in when you're, you know, you're being authentic, you're being who you are and you're giving yourself permission to let your body or whatever it is you do in your life. But on the dance floor, let your body do whatever it wants to the music and trust it and then enjoy it. And then not just that, but part of what I expect in Groove when I facilitate and I help you through, is giving yourself permission to add your personality, add your expression, add, like, get your face involved, you know, get your head moving, get your whole body engaged. And this is why groove has been doing the work that I keep saying all this because I'm not a scientist. I just know groove works. I mean, it's so obvious when I see the results of what happens when people do this. But now there's all the science and research behind what dance actually does to the brain. And it's like, wow. Like, it stimulates so much of the brain and not just dancing, like when you move your body creatively. The problem is this, is that most people, you know, when you're copying or following someone else, you're not actually dancing, you're copying and you're following someone else. You're doing it their way, you're not doing it your way. So, yes, it stimulates parts of your brain. Fabulous. Anyways, I get carried away because it's just. It's funny that I have to explain it because I just say, just go fucking do it. And you'll experience it and you'll know what I'm talking about and how it impacts all parts of you. Because if you're free and you're doing it creatively, it's stimulating all parts of your body. Not just that. Now we've got the group connection, which is something that is missing in most people's lives, is having a community or group connection. We danced as tribes for thousands, thousands of years. That's how we came together as people. And we danced to celebrate, we danced to mourn, we danced to pray. We danced for celebration. We danced for Everything as a tribe, everyone uniting together. And there weren't people that sat out because they felt stupid. Like, are you kidding me? Everybody participated and everyone danced their way. Even though they were all united, they were united in the rhythm of the drums. It was a group community thing. And that is something that is missing from most societies. Which is detrimental to our mental, emotional and spiritual health. When you don't feel connected to a group when you come in, you have the experience, you're united, you're doing it your own way. Not only cat. Okay, the next thing, you dance to all different types of music. Everything you can imagine, every genre, style. You don't know what kind of dance, I mean, what kind of music journey you're gonna go on. On any particular groove dance floor around the world, you have no idea. And every time you come in, you know, they might use some of the same songs. Cause they're so epic and everybody loves them. But it's always a mix. And it's always this flow of styles. God, from hip hop and funk to jazz, to techno, heavy metal, Latin, all the Latin styles, all the like. This is what makes groove so unique, is that we integrate every style of music. Because every style of music makes you want to move your body differently. And this is what I found with other dance programs that tend to lead to one. One style of music is that when you do that, that's a style of movement and that becomes repetitive. And then you're only doing that one style of music. Which makes your body wanna move a certain way. What we wanna do is stimulate again your brain. Cause when your brain hears different music and sounds. Oh, does it make it so happy what music does to the brain? But not again, just listening to the same kind of music all the time we play oh, it's so good. So that you'll experience all types of music. Another thing is that we start really slow and you just connect. You take about two minutes just to arrive and connect to your breath. Because you won't dance until you're actually like present with yourself. So what we do is we ask that once you come in to the actual dance floor. Cause it's an experience. This isn't a class, this is a fricking experience. When you come in and the class starts, some agreements we make is that you don't talk when you're on the dance floor. Because then you break the groove. Like once you're in, you're in. And so you only communicate with your body. But of course there's songs you'll want to Sing too, because the music's so epic and you'll know the music and you'll want to sing along. But when that's not the case, you arrive into the room. You can wear shoes if you want to wear shoes, but you take a few minutes to arrive where you just, you know, connect to your breath, relax, maybe even close your eyes and just tune into your own self for a moment. And then we start really, you know, easy and slow and, you know, let the body have a chance to lubricate your joints. And again, we don't lead a stretch or a warmup because no one in the room has the same body. No one should actually be doing the same stretches. I mean, that's just intelligence. Like, this is part of what we want to do, is empower people to learn to listen to their body and what their body needs. And how does your body need to warm up? We recommend lubricating your joints because the science behind that's actually the most effective way to warm up your body instead of stretching is just going through and making sure that your joints are all mobile and fluid and you've got some fresh oxygen rich blood flowing through those areas to make sure that you're preparing your body to dance. So we typically will go into that and then the movement just progresses from there. And it's a workout. Like, don't get it twisted. This is a workout like it's gonna get you in ways that you can't even imagine. Because when you really dance and you use your whole body, it's different than like going to a normal, like workout class or something, or you're training certain areas of your body. This is like a full body, head to toe integration of everything all at once. And it is fabulous. And the facilitator is also there to encourage you and push you, to help you. Because we also. Part of why I created Groove is to take care of your body, to heal your body, to condition your body, to keep it strong. Because if you only get a chance, you know, once a week to go out and dance, man, my attitude is, let's take this as an opportunity. Instead of just all of us, like we're in a rave and we're all just bopping up and down or, you know, whatever that might be, which I think is fabulous. Cause I think that's a wonderful united experience. If I'm not dancing, I have a hard time fitting in so much working out. So I try to use when I teach Groove and when I have people grooving with me, if that's the experience I want to give. Because you could create any kind of groove experience. You could have a whole meditative groove experience. And some teachers, actual facilitators do that where it might be more cardio and more really like fitnessy, where other facilitators might teach more mellow and more slow songs and softer songs. And so you'll end up finding the facilitator that fits like the kind of flow and groove that you like to do. It's kind of awesome because groove classes are popping up all over the place and we're looking for facilitators if anyone wants to learn how to do it. Like, and you don't have to be a professional dancer and you don't have to know how to dance to actually facilitate groove because you're a facilitator. You're not teaching people how to dance. That's what's great. It just takes all the pressure off if you're interested in teaching dance. Because the hardest thing to do, I think is actually teach someone technique and form. And that takes years to develop. And again, that's why a lot of people don't dance. Because becoming a quote unquote good dancer actually requires years of training and technique. And you have to be coordinated and you have to all these rules around what dance actually means as far as in one whole area of dance. And one of the reasons why people don't dance because again, the fear of looking stupid. So they feel like they have to have some training to be able to dance. They, they actually feel like they have to take some classes and they have to, you know, learn the technique and this and that. And it is if you want to learn a certain type of dance, absolutely. Or you want to go and try and copy someone else's dance. But this is why groove is so easy and why it's so fun and easy to teach. Because you're not teaching people how to dance. You're actually just your job and your role is to provide a space with sick ass epic music that makes people want to get their groove on. Because the music is so great in groove. That's the rule of groove. We only use music that makes you want to get your groove on. That's one of my qualifications for the music that I choose for the groove dance floor. And in groove you don't have to know anything, nothing you could have on one groove dance floor someone that has never danced before to their first time even taking any type of dance experience class and they're trying it out. You've Got those kind of people walking in the door. And you may have people that are actual professional dancers on the groove dance floor. Like I've grooved dancers through New York City and that blows their mind. Cause they're like, we don't ever get to like professional dancers that they master choreography. When I come and bring groove to them, they're just like, I've taught at Broadway Dance. But they were in tears because they're like, we're always learning choreography, we're always taking someone else's movement. And most of them, their scariest thing that they do is their freestyle when they go on to auditions. And that's where they struggle the most, is actually freestyling. So this is what groove does for professional dancers. It helps them develop their freestyle and their creativity and their expression. And I get this a lot from professional dancers. And they can be just as successful. The person, the brand new person can be just as successful as the person that has danced their whole life. Because it doesn't matter. The rules of the dance floor are this. And another thing that you expect when you get to the dance floor is one, nobody cares what you look like. Like, that's number one rule. No one cares what you look like. And if they do, it's their problem. So on the groove dance floor, you can't give a shit. You just can't. And no one does. And this is what you'll feel the moment you walk in the door. You will feel that nobody cares. No one's looking. Not at all. If anyone's looking at you, it's because the people that come to groove end up so connected and end up as friends. And it's just a new bunch of cool people to come and hang out and get your groove on together and feel good. You know, it's like a little party once a week with just fun people that want to have fun and get fit while they're having fun and dancing to sick ass epic music and having an experience like, it's awesome. It's so fucking awesome and works. So now we are talking about the five groove truths. And that's one of the things that if you can understand this, we teach it on the dance floor. But if you know it going in, you'll be like, ah, yeah, okay, I know I'm coming in. I understand kind of how this works. First thing, like I said, nobody cares what you look like. And if they do, it's their problem number two. Second groove truth that we apply to the dance floor is that you are unique, you are different than everyone else on the planet. You should absolutely move your body differently than anyone else. So don't try to copy anyone, don't try to follow anyone. Just do it the way your body wants to do it. And you nailed it. Three is that when you do something your own authentic way, you cannot get it wrong. It is impossible. That's why we don't care. We don't care what foot you're on, we don't care what direction you're going. So don't worry. This is what I mean. Like you got two left feet. Come to the dance floor. You will feel at home. Because it doesn't matter. Because the movement is so simple. There's no complex choreography. And you'll nail it your first time, trust me. Fourth is that no one's going to do it for you. No one's going to dance for you. No one. No one's going to be healthy for you, happy for you, nothing. But when it comes to the groove dance floor, you need to apply on the dance floor that no one's going to shake your ass for you. No one's going to add style to your movement for you. That's your job. But it's really cool because the facilitator will give you ideas. Like if we're in a certain style of music, they'll give you some words that will make you understand it. Like make your arms a little softer and feel the music. Because everything that we do is driven by the music. That is another thing that is so important about groove is that God must be a dj. Because music and what music does to you. And we all know it, every single person knows it. The moment your song comes on, your body lights up, it wants to move, it responds, it drives you, it makes you want to do something. Even if you say you're not a dancer. Bullshit. When your song comes on, you know the head starts bopping or the toe starts a tapping and that whatever starts a movin' because the music moves you. Music is so powerful and we all resonate with a different style of music. That is again why we play so many different styles on the groove dance floor. So you might like a few songs, you might not like a few songs, but in the end you'll end up liking them. Because when you actually groove to it, for some odd, weird reason, you end up actually enjoying a song you may not have thought you liked. Cause you'll have a new experience of it. But music, oh God. So I'm a music snobby. And I'm a music whore, and I think it's one of my superpowers is I have a really good sense of music that makes you want to move. And I don't know, I felt like one of those gifts that was bestowed upon me when I was shat out of my mother that just music spoke to my soul and made my body want to move. All right, fierce ones, that's a wrap for today. Thanks for keeping it real and grooving with me. If you're loving this vibe, be sure to subscribe, share and leave a review so that we can keep this movement alive. Remember, this journey is all about you. You owning your own truth, trusting your instincts, and living boldly. Stay true, stay wild, and most importantly, keep being unapologetically you. So until next time, let's keep it real.