Artist dances through breakup in ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ performance

Dance is a fascinating art form.

It combines physical movement with artistic expression–bridging the gap between the subjective universe and objective reality.

As with any art form, when the person who is creating it pours all of their passion into it, it has an impact on those of us who experience it.

So much so, that even someone with zero dancing ability (like me) and an inability to appreciate the nuance of intricate dance moves (again, like me), can take something away from an incredible dance routine.

When I watched Koharu Sugawara perform her dance to Gotye’s, “Somebody That I Used To Know,” it may have been the first time that I understood why dancers dance.

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It’s a powerful tool of expression that allows you to not only release your emotions but get out all of your physical energy as well.

Very few art forms allow you to do both at the same time.

And there is something to be said about that.

Because our emotions are directly related to our physical body.

According to familydoctor.org, “Your body responds to the way you think, feel, and act. This is one type of ‘mind/body connection.’ When you are stressed, anxious, or upset, your body reacts in a way that might tell you that something isn’t right. For example, you might develop high blood pressure or a stomach ulcer after a particularly stressful event, such as the death of a loved one.

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So being able to address an emotional issue as well as a physical issue through one form of art is extremely beneficial.

And what’s great about dance is that it can be beneficial for the person who is doing it as well as for those who are watching it.

When you watch Koharu dance, you can feel her pain, her frustration, her longing.

It takes you to a specific time and place in your own life when you experienced those same emotions.

You feel connected on a level that only comes from two people experiencing the same emotion, fighting through it, and eventually overcoming it.

What Koharu shows us in this video is that a well-performed dance takes place in every part of your body.

When her hips rock back and forth, the rest of her body isn’t waiting for its turn to move around, each one of her body parts is already in motion.

And not just the body parts that you would expect.

Koharu moves her fingers, her neck, even her cheek muscles in a way that conveys something to the audience.

That’s how you know that she is really feeling what she is doing.

She has created such a connection between her emotions and her physical body that every single moveable body part is a part of the action.

And that’s what makes Koharu an incredible dancer and what makes this dance such an incredible performance.

Just like stageminded.com reminds us, “Think of your favorite dancers to watch, what makes them so stunning? Usually, it’s the way they share something of their own soul through their dancing.”

That’s it then.

Koharu has found a way to share her soul with us through dance.