On Friday, May 29, Asheville will host its Second Annual Dance Walk Asheville, part of an international dance movement made popular in a viral YouTube video that has sparked dance walks worldwide.
This year’s dance walk, “Shake Yo’ Booty on Biltmore,” will kick off downtown at 5:30 pm on Friday, May 29 at Pack Square.
Participants will meet at the Vance Monument and dance walk down Biltmore Ave. toward the Orange Peel and back to Patton Avenue, ending at Asheville’s dance-friendly drum circle at Pritchard Park. Participants are invited to join the dance walk at any point along the route.
This free dance walk is sponsored by The Fun Conspiracy, a local Asheville business committed to raising awareness about the importance of engaging in regular play to support emotional and physical well-being.
“Most of us think we don’t deserve to play until we get all our work done,” says The Fun Conspiracy founder, Ginny Hunneke. “The irony is that we are more creative and effective when we regularly take time to play.”
Humans are quite literally hard-wired for play throughout our lifetime, according to psychiatrist and play researcher Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play and author of the national bestseller Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul.
Play’s many benefits include greater happiness and optimism, enhanced learning and memory, improved cognitive skills, and stronger empathy and social connections. Play also boosts the immune system, regulates stress, and provides protection from heart disease and neurological problems such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
More information and the full dance walk route are posted on the event website at www.thefunconspiracy.com/
Click here to view more photos from last year’s dance walk.