The beautiful Carolina Churba-Doyle brought Biodanza to South Africa in 1996 and since then has been spreading the message. She is the perfect face for the dance with life because meeting her is incredible fun while being good for the body, mind and soul.

Carolina Churba-Doyle

Carolina was born in the England to parents who moved there during World War 11 to care for orphans. They returned to Argentina when she was very young and much of her time there was spent during the political turmoil of the 60s and 70s. By the time she was 18 she was a confused revolutionary in a country that was in the grip of a brutal military junta.

In a place where young activists routinely disappeared, she was sent to Rolando Toro Araneda for therapy. He was a psychiatrist and founder of Biodanza; a fusion of music, movement and emotion. What he did with those in his charge was to keep them busy with psychiatry exercises from Monday to Thursday and dance through to Sunday.

‘He gave us no time to think of anything else,’ smiles Carolina.      

Dance with Life

‘Have you ever danced until you flew? Danced so hard, so fast, so freely that you reach a level of overwhelming, ecstatic joy?’ asked Mike Aldridge in Ecstasy Through Dance. ‘If you haven’t you should – it can change your life.’

Well you can with Biodanza, and it will change your life. Studies have shown it to be a wonderful form of personal development as it raises your capacity to communicate and improves the quality of your relationships as well as your sense of well-being and happiness.

‘To investigate Biodanza is like investigating a treasure deep in the ocean or to watch an indefinite universe full of incredible, beautiful miracles,’ wrote psychologist Dr M Stueck, who was part of an academic research study of the phenomenon in Argentina and Germany. It found that it had deep therapeutic value as it took the person away from the psychological practice of ‘talk, talk’ and into their bodies and feelings.

Trained Physiotherapist

Carolina trained as a physiotherapist and move back to the UK. ‘On one side I had order, but there was another part of me that wanted to explore life and meet people who were different,’ she says. ‘I was a teenager until I was 27 and found the English very sad. While I was going mad and doing crazy things, they were bargaining their lives away from very young by worrying about nonsense like taxes.’

Biodanza would not let go of her and she began bringing it into the institutions that housed the disabled. At that time there was a move to close these facilities and reintegrate the disabled into society, but there was no respect for their emotions or humanity amongst the public. This was very frustrating for her and she packed away her white jacket to follow her dream.

Rejecting Chaos

She went to Australia only to find it had no energy and the people were in love with the idea of England. They certainly weren’t ready for someone and something as chaotic from South America. So she returned to England.

There, the Irishman she was dating and is now married to, was offered a job in South Africa and they arrived in 1996. Soon after they got here they fought and she phoned her psychologist in Buenos Aires, who advised her to overcome her issues.

Nothing is Everything

She had nothing when she arrived and suddenly remembered Michelangelo’s comment on seeing the stone from which he would sculpt David: ‘When nothing there is everything.’ From then she decided to start changing one thing a day.

When in London she had everything and was sad and depressed. In South Africa she had nothing and was suddenly filled with excitement at all the possibilities before her. Everything was a challenge and everything had potential. She was a metaphor for the country.

The Beginnings of Biodanza in South Africa

A returning exile asked her to do a Biodanza class to get people together in the spirit of reconciliation. It was very moving for her as South Africa and South America are very similar in energy, connection and integration with the earth.

‘Energy is energy, neither good nor bad,’ says Carolina. ‘Here I felt a connection because people live by the heart. Also, Biodanza believes all people are equal as well as the principle of “I am because of you”. At its heart it is thus Ubuntu.’

The Growth of Biodanza

Since founding Biodanza in South Africa, Carolina has done five school cycles and trained 50 teachers. People in South Africa are in search of self-esteem and an identity and Biodanza gives that quest order, making it perfect for Africa.     

Biodanza is now offered throughout the country and Carolina believes it will help with one national project. ‘South Africa has lots of codes, especially regarding race,’ says Carolina. ‘But this will evolve and I want to do my bit to help the process. There are no codes in Biodanza, except respect for others, and if I can get that message across then our bonds will strengthen as we move to a common identity.’

If anyone can do it, this amazing, inspirational woman can.