Dance
![Two performers are dancing on a stage in front of an audience. The scene is vibrant, featuring red and purple lights, with spectators taking photos and videos.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/77c82997-e590-4127-a5a3-7c4999417be7/gigurtis-rt.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Dance
idea
How dance taught me to embrace my deformity
In the raw style of Tanztheater, I found a way to take my poetry into the physical world and express myself authentically
by Billy Gigurtsis
![A dancer in traditional Indian dress performs on stage against a black background](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/05aa90b5-748f-4d3e-80b8-37f55033383c/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Dance
idea
Bharathanatyam dance is a living exploration of being human
With its origins in 16th-century India, Bharathanatyam remains hugely popular. Here’s a primer to kickstart your enjoyment
by Lakshmi Thiagarajan
![Illustration of a blue-colored woman balancing on one leg surrounded by plants, flowers, a crab, berries, mushrooms, and a turtle.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/1e5970ce-3280-417e-a49a-25304e3442a9/dance-dance-evolution-psyche-landscape-1.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Dance
film
Every culture dances. So why did humans evolve to get down?
Directed by Rosanna Wan and Andrew Khosravani
![Person standing by a lake with mountains in the background, next to an empty bench. Scenic and tranquil landscape on a clear day.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/a8863b55-4fe1-4e66-8689-646db8aa10f4/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Compassion and empathy
idea
Empathy is, at heart, an aesthetic appreciation of the other
Empathy is an aesthetic practice that relies on our capacity to delight in, and respond with reverence to, the world around us
by Susan Lanzoni
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/14bbe83c-9d59-4a55-95e7-0cad5ecaeebf/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Dance
idea
Lockdown dancing is both a solo conversation and a mass grieving
As both Martha Graham and Hannah Arendt knew, being alone – in dance or in conversation – is a way to explore connection
by Dana Naomy Mills
![Digital artwork of several topless figures in various poses on a black background, depicted in a glowing blue-green hue.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/64f05798-eed5-4eee-b9e8-460c4040de0e/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Dance
film
Body heat illuminates a breathtaking dance of light, movement and humanity
Directed by Philippe Baylaucq
![Silhouette of a person climbing a steep, diagonal staircase against a gradient sky in grayscale.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/76794be7-7929-4327-aa35-3c3e85e1eabb/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Dance
film
A darkly playful dance of shadows, surreal visions and transformation
Directed by Douglas Bernardt