Dance Kickin’ Therapy is turning line dancing into more than just fun on the dance floor – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports
(WSVN) – Line dancing can involve more than just having fun on the dance floor. One man is turning it into therapy. 7’s Heather Walker shows us how in this 7Spotlight.
Darryl Thomas, line dance instructor: “Let’s go, let’s go.”
Step by step, beat by beat, this is much more than a dance class. For Darryl Thomas, who goes by the name Coach D, line dancing is a form of therapy.
Darryl Thomas: “You release endorphins of happiness and joy. I have never, ever, ever seen a mad or angry line dancer; you will never see it.”
He started line dancing after an injury kept him from lifting weights.
Darryl Thomas: “One thing led to another, and next thing you know, I’m a line dance instructor with a whole line dance class, with a line dance team.”
These classes started a few weeks ago in Miami. They are offered for free by the nonprofit organization Circle of Brotherhood.
Coach D is the health and wellness coordinator for the group and named the class Dance Kickin’ Therapy.
Darryl Thomas: “The whole essence of the line dancing is to bring the community together.”
Anyone can take part. All you have to do is show up, get in line, and if you mess up, Coach D says just catch up.”
Sharon Johnson, line dancer: “The instructors, they’re very nice and patient.”
Nicole, line dancer: “It just awakens you because, you know, I was kind of like getting lazy, so I was like, ‘You know what? I need to get out. I need to get back in and start dancing’ and stuff like that, so it’s a form of exercise. We really sweated in here a lot, so people have this misconception that line dancing is not hard work. It is; you put a lot of cardio in, in line dancing.”
Nicole brought her grandkids along: 8-year-old Eugene and 12-year-old Fait.
Eugene: “It was fun.”
Heather Walker: “It was? What made it fun?”
Eugene: “Because I was dancing, and I love to have fun.”
Nicole: “Show him what your favorite part was.”
Some come to learn new moves or get a workout. Others find line dancing as a way to work through life’s challenges.
Sharon Johnson: “I had a lot of grief I was going through, and dancing really helps.”
For Sharon Johnson, the unexpected benefit has been the friendships she has formed.
Sharon Johnson: “Coming and meeting new people, that’s the best part, meeting a lot of new friends.”
Nicole: “Even if you don’t know the person that you are dancing next to, it kind of like brings people together. By the time you are finished, everybody is like, yeah, you are rooting each other on and, you know, boosting everybody up.”
These shared steps are turning strangers into supporters.
Darryl Thomas: “With all the things that are going on in our nation, you know, I think the best thing to do is just to dance.”
And that’s moving in the right direction.
Heather Walker 7News.
The class are held on Wednesday night and Saturday morning. For more information, click here.
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