It is never too late to commemorate World AIDS Day, it was just yesterday December 1st, but today I want to make a brief summary of why it arose and how salsa and other genres positively influences this disease.
Day dedicated since 1988, to the health of the world, where agencies of the United Nations, governments and civil society, speak, raise and implement information activities to combat this disease.
LIFE BALL, A PARTY AGAINST AIDS SINCE 1993
For 26 years Gery Kesler and Torgom Petrosian, created the event called “Life Ball”. What was the event all over the world to raise funds, information and awareness about HIV? What did it consist of?
The event took place in Vienna, Austria, where they organize the city to receive celebrities, speeches from partners, shows and moments to meditate on the importance of this disease. Unfortunately it could only be held until 2019, due to the lack of sponsors and donors. However, Gery Kesler concluded a rather important aspect, during the years he made this party full of dance and art.
“Conditions have changed a lot in recent years. AIDS has gone from being a death sentence to a chronic disease.”
Thanks to the different purposes of dance such as: dexterity, talent, persistence, discipline, mental and corporal health, union, and above all socialization. They allow a great contribution with donations, inclusion and HIV stigma. To raise awareness and sensitize about diseases such as these and of course to provide sincere and warm support to people who suffer from it.
THE POWER OF ART, CAN MITIGATE PAIN AND SAVE LIVES
Surely, many readers are curious to know the connection between dance and a chronic disease. We know roughly the main benefits of dance in your life in general, physical, mental and emotional level (I share a previous article that speaks in depth about this).
For chronic diseases dance not only helps physically for cardiovascular problems, but also on the emotional side, with our beautiful and magnificent oxytocin that we generate when we are happy, (main objective that has the dance).
Without going any further, in the decade of the 90s productions such as “Philadelphia”, addresses the stigma of AIDS in the dramatic musical about a progressive blindness -Dancing in the dark- Another artistic piece called “Art to improve health and wellness”, two neurologists and a poet state. “The world of medicine, art and culture, perhaps they are even inseparable”.
IT IS NOT ONLY A PHYSICAL BENEFIT
AIDS, being a silent disease, calls to live it alone. It is for this reason that everything that involves complicity, friendship, love and community sharing will always work. Besides activating you neuronally and physically; dance needs you to concentrate on the here and now, which is the basis of life, and with it, body self-knowledge and good communication with your dance partner or yourself, to really enjoy the dance.
According to Christopher Bailey, director of the “Art and Health Initiative” of the World Health Organization (WHO), states:
“With a growing body of evidence that incorporating the arts into healthcare systems and creative venues can improve health outcomes, reduce costs and support recovery from illness and injury, the time is ripe for a ‘healing arts revolution’ that will improve the well-being of millions of people around the world.
With these great stories, research and admirable professionals. I express my enormous happiness and pleasure, to be able to share through Salsaflow, all the knowledge (that at the moment with my experience I have acquired) of my Latin American land about salsa, music and culture. To bring happiness, healing, empathy and a lot of self-love; teaching salsa and other Latin genres, which do us so much good and we can enjoy. And just this Christmas, I invite you to try our salsa classes, to end the year with a few extra steps for the holidays and give a great welcome to 2025, where we will have even more salsa.
