And it's a phrase Ausdance ACT wants to put aside this Dance Week.

Starting on Thursday, Dance Week puts a spotlight on every style of dance, from community dance to professional. And as well as having performances for people to enjoy is a host of workshops to help those who haven't danced before, try their hand (or feet) at it.

"I think people get a bit scared with dance," Ausdance ACT director Cathy Adamek says.

"They think, 'Oh, I'm not going to be good at it or people might look at me if I don't know how to do it properly'. I think there's a sense sometimes you have to have this advanced skill set to be able to participate. But Dance Week is all about saying come along and try and move your body. That's all we need you to do."

Canberra Dance Theatre, Bom Funk, Olivia Fyfe from Australian Dance Party and First Nations dancer Tammi Gissell are among those hosting free dance workshops throughout Dance Week.

Meanwhile, performances kick off on Thursday with The Point by the Liz Lea Dance Company and continue on Saturday with Love Dance at the National Portrait Gallery. Inspired by the Love Stories exhibition, the day will see pop-up dance performances from many Canberra dance organisations.

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"The opportunity to present at the National Portrait Gallery presented itself because they're doing some really interesting projects at the moment around dance," Adamek says.

"There are a lot of chances for dance to take you by surprise on that day and it's all themed around the love of dance and the idea of love as well."

On May 9 there will also be the premiere of Mundaguddah, which features Tammi Gissell in a story that is significant to many Aboriginal nations, the Rainbow Serpent.

There is also a workshop aimed at teachers in regards to trauma awareness in dance, as well as multiple Dance for Wellbeing classes. A Belco Arts initiative, Dance for Wellbeing is a class for people with Parkinson's and other conditions.

"The week is actually a really great opportunity for teachers to be able to extend their training, particularly to be able to work with people with trauma," Adamek says.

"Often dance releases things in the body that you don't always expect is going to happen. And I think particularly working specifically with dance as a form of therapy, too, the trauma training kind of moves into that territory a bit too.

"It's about how to deal with people who are carrying trauma in the body. That's the thing about the arts, and particularly expressive arts like music and dance, is its ability to heal and to help release emotion."

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