Vanessa Verghese, Founder of Groove Therapy. Gracie Steindl Photography

Having danced since she was 5, Vanessa Verghese has always been surrounded by movement, music and creativity. For her it’s just second nature. But not everyone grows up with the same experience. With a starry look in their eye, people often express to Vanessa how they wish they could also dance, thinking just because they didn’t do it as a child meant they can’t do it as an adult. Cue Groove Therapy. An all-inclusive, beginners, no mirrors, dim lights dance environment that teaches anyone and everyone how to dance. In the format of face-to-face weekly classes or through their online program, Groove Therapy teaches basic grooves and movement allowing one’s dance ability to organically grow and flourish, resulting in some pretty sweet dance moves you can pull out the next time you’re on the D-floor. We had a chat with Vanessa, the founder of Groove Therapy, to discuss the program and what led her to create such a successful, inclusive dance hub for those from all different backgrounds.

Energetiks: Tell us about how Groove Therapy started and what inspired you to create this?

Vanessa Varghese: I created Groove Therapy because I saw how much people put me on a pedestal for being a ‘dancer’. There was a sense of ‘I wish I could but I can’t because…’ and my response was always ‘because what? Let’s just dance!’. I just don’t think dance should be reserved for dancers. We all know how beneficial it is to move to the sound of music amongst a community of joyous bodies. I found that adults stopped themselves from exploring dance because they’re scared they’ll look bad. The truth is, you probably will look bad because it’s your first time trying something new, and that’s just how life works baby. In a nutshell, Groove Therapy is about creating a safer space for people to give themselves permission to try out this whole dance thing without feeling judged or belittled.

E: How would you describe the program?

VV: Each class is a little different because we ask the teachers to bring their own soul to the experience. Our criteria for them is to facilitate a sense of togetherness. Perhaps it’s by asking students to introduce themselves to each other, or beginning class with a few ice-breakers. It’s just about making the whole experience human.
Now we’ve launched an online program and it took a lot of time to consider how this Groove Therapy ethos should bleed into the online platform. So, we’ve introduced a private Facebook group to build the community of togetherness there. We run dance challenges, offer little bonus mini-tutorials, write blog articles with tips and compile (in our humble opinion) the most epic music playlists ever!

E: The success of the program has been incredible. Why do you believe the program has gone so well?

VV: We’ve had a few dance studios copy our marketing with their own respective launches of ‘no mirror, dim lights’ classes but honestly that’s not our secret ingredient. Our secret is that we don’t go for the big franchise route whilst focusing on profits. Instead we go small and focus on community. We think of all the little things that bring human connection to the forefront and we try instil that into the class experience. It’s about teachers remembering their regulars names, it’s about the long conversations that strangers fall into after class, it’s about the AH-MAZING playlists of tunes that people have never heard before. At the end of the day people who follow us see that we are just a bunch of friends who love to dance and we’re dorky enough that you don’t feel intimidated to approach us and join in.

E: The idea of dancing with no mirrors and dim lights is great for building confidence, even for those who have danced before. Has this been a popular aspect of the classes?

VV: Personally, I love mirrors! I feel such a sense of empowerment watching myself move but when the mirrors are taken away, I have no choice but to reply on how I feel instead of how I look. I think this is a powerful way to connect with your body - appreciating it for what it does and not for its aesthetics.

E: The online dance classes and being able to take class at your own pace is great! Have you found these to be really popular?

VV: I created the online course as a little tester for our existing regulars to perhaps dabble in the foundations they’ve learnt throughout the week. The curveball was seeing the online curriculum explode amongst a completely different demographic of people to our weekly classes! We basically have hundreds of people enrolled who can’t get to our regular classes. It may be because their schedules don’t match, they don’t live in Melbourne or Sydney, or they are still too scared to try dance in public - even though they know we preach really hard about our space being good vibes only. Many people have written to me citing mental and physical health problems as their motivator for enrolling online. People with physical ailments love being able to pause, rewind and play a move and I’ve received letters from people with mental health problems who use the course to dance at home on days when they can’t bring themselves to leave the house.
The online courses consist of video tutorials, written explanations, inspo videos of professional dancers executing moves and curated playlists - so you can mute me and try out the moves to different tracks once you’ve got the hang of it. I’ve been told that this array of learning tools plus the ability to pause, rewind and replay caters to a range of different learning abilities really well, which makes me so happy!

E: Tell us about your background with dance.

VV: I classically trained as a Bharatanatayam dancer since I was five. This is an ancient Indian form of dance and you could say the lineage runs parallel to other ancient Indian practices such as yoga and carnatic music. I still dance as a Bharatanatayam performer and 2020 is my year of the teacher training in which I will learn how to pass on this craft to the younger Indian generation. I’m so excited about this!
At around 19, I began to explore dancehall, hip hop, house, Afro-beat and recently developed a little obsession with vogue. The thing that drew me to these street dances is they were born from the fundamental need for marginalised people to express themselves and come together in the name of love. It was so different to the formality of learning an ancient cultural and classical dance form and it gives you a different type of freedom. In my quest to learn from the roots of these styles and not a culturally appropriated ‘pop’ version, I’ve travelled through Paris, Berlin, London, Australia, Japan and South America to train. I’ve spent the last year in New York on a sabbatical from teaching so that I could just step into the role of the student again. It’s been incredible. So let’s see, I was 5 when I started and I turn 32 in 2020, so that’s some 27 years of experience, 11 of which I’ve taught dance.

E: Do you have a go-to or default dance move?

VV: Oh don’t we all?! I’m trying to challenge myself to change the way I think so that my freestyle is more an embodiment of concept exploration rather that simply regurgitating as many different moves as possible. Still rock the body rolls every time though.

E: Favourite party song to go with the dance moves?

VV: Don’t have one! I have a commitment-phobia with music.

E: We love the playlists provided in some of your blog pieces, as well as the dose of inspiration on your socials. Who’s behind the creative work happening?

VV: Whilst I’m the head creative voice and curator behind Groove Therapy content, we have a family of people who create the socials together. The playlists and online content are compiled by Amy Zhang, Talia Kuo and Wanida Serce. All three of them are dancers, powerful women, hard workers and fundamentally good people. In other words, all three of them embody everything that I want Groove Therapy to be, so the content comes naturally and as an extension of who we are.

E: How did you come to find your team of dance instructors?

VV: Friends or friends of friends only. We get so many requests for Groove Therapy to open up in various cities around the world but to be honest, I need people with the soul first and the dance experience second. We need teachers who can hold space for nervous beginners, who know their dance history and who understand the importance of teaching correctly. We need teachers who ooze cool at first then disarm you with their dorkiness as you get to know them over the hour. This is not something you simply find through an application form or impressive CV.

E: Who would you recommend the classes for?

VV: Our classes aren’t designed for dancers. Groove Therapy is for the person who finds the idea of a dance studio scary. The experience is designed around making you feel safe at first, then getting stuck into the dance technique second. If you are a dancer already, the chances are you don’t find dance studios, mirrors and challenging choreography scary, so I’d probably recommend going to a jam or studio for intermediate to pro-level people.
Groove Therapy really started because every time I told someone I was a dancer they’d reply with ‘I wish I could dance but I’m too uncoordinated to take a dance class!’. Every dancer knows that conversation, because we have it every time we meet a non-dancer. If you’re a dancer reading this, tell that person to come to a Groove Therapy class!

E: Are there any plans on holding more classes around Australia or other locations?

VV: There are no plans on expanding in Australia physically but lots of plans to go bigger online. The reason being that our strength lies in community and turning Groove Therapy into a franchise puts that authenticity in danger. Our online Facebook group however can be built into a loving, nurturing space no matter where people are from so that’s a big focus.

E: Where would you like to see the program go in the future?

VV: 2020 is about me doing less management work and getting back into the teaching side of things. I’m going to be spending a large chunk of this year taking the benefits of dance into marginalised communities who don’t have access to health and wellness lifestyles and giving up my time as a volunteer. I’ll be collecting data and evaluating the journey and seeing if we can use the power of dance to create a series of community programs that bring health, movement, mental wellness and community to the forefront of more lives who otherwise would not be able to afford it.

E: Any words of advice for those who are wanting to dance but may still be a bit tentative?

VV: Do it on your own terms. If you’re not ready to dance publicly in class yet then dance in your bedroom first. Check out all the free resources we have on our website in the form of epic playlists, mini tutorials and sign up to our newsletters which are filled with dancespo. If you’re ready to level up but still can’t bring yourself to come to class, try the online courses we have to offer. There are so many options available to you before you even step foot in a class, but when you’re ready we’ll be waiting for you with open arms and an epic playlist!

The Groove Therapy Team. Rae Sturm Photography

For more information on their weekly classes head to Groove Therapy’s website groovetherapy101.com or click here if you are interested in their online dance courses.
You can also follow their Instagram for your daily dose of dancespo: @groovetherapy_101

Article by Sheree Ronai-Horvath
Photography by Emma Daniels, Daniel Lidmila, Gracie Steindl and Rae Sturm.

Groove Therapy | No Mirrors. Dim Lights.