Dance like it's the weekend
Push back the tables, kick off your shoes and crank up the music, it’s the weekend! For Rosa and her family, celebrating a week of big and little wins with a dance is a ritual they all look forward to.
As a designer and small business owner Rosa (@rosawintherdenison) works alone from her home in Copenhagen. It’s not always easy to stay focused or motivated when you’re a team of one, so each week she creates a list of goals. As she ticks off each task she celebrates the win with a little victory dance. But when Friday comes, she enlists the help of her family to close out the work week and cheer in the weekend. From techno beats and club hits to Gangnam style moves, it’s time to let loose.
Rosa and her husband Niels began dancing at home when Sølve was born. But when her father Gary came for an extended stay between house moves and the pandemic forced them all to stay at home, Rosa needed to boost morale and bring the fun back to Fridays. “During the pandemic we made these Friday dances, which turned into a home disco, to just shake the week off,” explains Rosa. “Then I made videos of us dancing and uploaded them to Instagram. People kept commenting, asking us to make more, then they started making their own videos inspired by ours and our techno playlist.” Soon the family were sharing their ritual with friends and finding fans through livestream discos on Instagram.
“It’s very relaxing and liberating when you’re dancing, stepping it up, sweating and the pulse is quickening. It just feels awesome.”
Their online dance sessions have ended, but the ritual lives on. Even little brother Saxo who’s now one year old is big enough to join in. In fact, it’s become so popular that the family now dance every day. Whether it’s a quick boogie in the morning to start the day or to burn off fuel before bed, it’s become a daily highlight. “It really puts the kids in a good mood. They love doing something with us together. Whenever we put on music, Saxo takes our hand and leads us to the dance floor. It’s like our little social thing. Sometimes we dance really close like we’re hugging, then other times we go wild and crazy.” says Rosa. The Friday dance still remains the favourite though, as that’s when Rosa rolls out her trolley filled with lights, microphones and speakers.
From raising heart rates to lowering stress, there’s no end to the health benefits of Rosa’s ritual, but for her, the most important thing has been to create happy memories for her sons. “It has a huge impact on them, and I can see that when other people do it with their kids, it creates the same vibe. I really love that because it’s so simple, it’s just music and dancing.” And as Rosa concludes, you don’t even need loads of space, “We’ve danced in Sølve’s bedroom, which is about 1.10 metres wide, so you can do it anywhere; just be careful not to wave your arms too much!”
What's your everyday ritual?
For more ideas and inspiration or to create your own home disco, click below to visit your local IKEA online.