Dance/Movement Therapy

When times are hard, it's natural not to feel like celebrating. The global pandemic has left many dancers feeling isolated and stressed. Without the joy and connection of dancing together in a circle, we may struggle to find meaningful ways to celebrate when we cannot be together as we used to. Yet now more than ever, circle dance is our best medicine: it brings people together, protects our health and happiness, awakens the life force, and builds community. And because traditional dances have come to us from peoples who have had their share of difficulties, the dances reflect this, and teach us valuable skills to help us through times of challenge and change. This article offers four examples of Greek, Armenian and Bulgarian dances-Pogonisios, Tsámikos Flámbouro, Mairam Govand, and Pravo Rodopsko Horo-which help us choose joy and celebrate life.

Die traditionellen Frauentänze des Balkans und des Nahen Ostens werden auch heute noch zu Hochzeiten und Dorffesten getanzt, doch ihre Wurzeln gehen auf die uralte Kultur des Neolithikums zurück. Damals wie heute ist eine ihrer wertvollsten Gaben, dass sie die Werte der Gemeinschaft lehren, halten und stärken.

The research study at the center of this proposal focuses on Mind-Body Medicine strategies to improve clinical outcomes in inpatient psychiatry settings. More specifically, multidisciplinary approaches in the areas of clinical psychology and behavioral medicine have been utilized to better support the healing process and treatment plans for patients with multiple mental health diagnosis.

A peer-reviewed paper that evaluates and discusses the impact of a dance and health project in a setting for people with dementia in Nottinghamshire, UK that was designed and carried out by Tina Heeley. It discusses the importance of collaboration, of partnership with the host organisation, of mentorship for those involved and the importance of independent evaluation, as well as the benefits/outcomes for all involved.

Our journey through life is encoded in our bodies just as the rings of a tree encode the life-story of that tree. If we grow up in an emotionally supportive environment our posture will be secure, our movements fluid, and our speech expressive. We will also be at ease with our bodies, and enjoy an open connection between body and psyche.

If we grow up in the wake of emotional trauma, it is a different story. Our bodies take on the postures, movements, and ways of speaking that seem to offer us protection: we may puff ourselves up or make ourselves small, overeat or starve, yell or stutter. Once established, these bodily defences limit our experience of ourselves and the world. Additionally, they often create painful physical symptoms.

Equally damaging is the disembodiment that accompanies childhood trauma. Emotions are primarily bodily responses, so by cutting off from our bodies we can distance ourselves from unbearable pain. We are not necessarily conscious of our disembodiment, but there are consequences. We cannot pick up the subtle feelings that reflect our bodies' emotional states and which could act as a compass during life. We have little access to the images that arise in our bodies which could help to guide our journey. We see our bodies as objects and tend to blame at least some of our pain on their imagined inadequacy.

Healing trauma requires that we work directly with our bodies to release what they hold, and forge the connections between body and psyche that will enable us to live an embodied life. There are many creative ways to do this work, including authentic movement, voice-work, yoga and working with masks.

Einkaufen-Gehen ist etwas, was allein in der Stadt wirklich geht. lm Dorf kann man nur Besorgungen machen, und in der Kleinstadt kann man darüber hinaus höchstens zum Einkaufen fahren. lch gehe Einkaufen meint im urbanen Kontext etwas anderes als Ich mache Besorgungen. Gehen und Kaufen sind beim Einkaufen-Gehen in dieselbe flache, in sich selbst ein wenig verschobene Gegenwart verfügt, und diese Gegenwart lässt kaum Ansatzpunkte für eine Zäsurierung des Gehens erkennbar werden, an denen man eine Kauf-Handlung von der Geh-Bewegung abtrennen könnte.

Building on C. G. Jung's early understanding of dance as a form of active imagination, Dreamdancing (Stromsted 1984) brings together the inner world of body sensation, feelings, dreams and images; moving through dreams can help us experience the body/psyche connection. Just as the sensing body provides immediate access to all of life's experiences, our dreams, in turn, reflect the vitality of the body and the condition of our psychic, spiritual life. Analysis involves attuning to these messages, in the other, and within ourselves, hearing the soul's call and working with obstacles to its fulfilment. Elements from this practice may enhance your clinical practice by providing an increased sense of comfort with and appreciation for your own bodily wisdom and feeling responses. Expanded ways of seeing and enhanced awareness of the somatic foundations of the intersubjective relationship can deepen empathy and effectiveness in working with others, while providing avenues for self care and renewal.

The concept of embodiment, or the lived experience of the body, has become an important focus of scholarly attention across psychology, sociology, philosophy, and cultural studies. Addressing the inherent challenges of researching the lived experience of the body, this edited volume brings together experienced scholars who conduct and teach embodied research to and establish effective strategies for exploring experience through nonverbal communication, subjective sensory and proprioceptive states, and body-centered imagery. It represents a thorough and comprehensive resource for students conducting research using an embodied approach and for instructors that teach embodied inquiry.

For more information visit: www.routledge.com/9781138367081
or
https://www.routledge.com/The-Art-and-Science-of-Embodied-Research-Design-Concepts-Methods-and-Cases/Tantia/p/book/9781138367081

Integrative Performance serves a crucial need of 21st-century performers by providing a transdisciplinary approach to training. Its radical new take on performance practice is designed for a climate that increasingly requires fully rounded artists. The book critiques and interrogates key current practices and offers a proven alternative to the idea that rigorous and effective training must separate the disciplines into discrete categories of acting, singing, and dance.

The purpose of this research was to explore the varied ways in which self-identified transgender people experience bodily identity, specifically feelings of dissonance between inner sense of self and visibly bodied self. Ethnographic case study research was conducted in the form of in-depth interviews with two, self-identified transmen. Interview topics focused primarily on participants’ past and present feelings about their bodies, their experiences of gender identity “from within,” and their journeys to discover and work towards more personally authentic gender expression. In total, four themes emerged from the interviews, two of which emerged in both interviews: 1) finding one’s authentic gender expression, and 2) accepting one’s past as part of one’s total gender identity. Each participant also had one theme that was unique to his interview: The influence of social expectations on body image and The importance of passing in a socially conservative environment. The participants’ narratives were transcribed, and results were analyzed in relation to the various theoretical work presented in the literature review. The results of these interviews suggest that the participants’ relationships to their bodily selves, as experienced “from within” and as represented in their visible presentations, are complex. Their embodied identities cannot be reduced to the “trapped in the wrong body” narrative that is deployed in mainstream media to represent all trans relationships to bodily identity. Additionally, both participants said that movement activities increased their sense of being “at-one” with their bodies, and described experiences of self-empowerment or transcendence while engaged in dance, thus suggesting that dance/movement therapy might prove useful to individuals reconciling inner and outer bodily identities.

iq ka or;a jh ú §u ks id we;s jk i;= g idfma la Ih' th mq oa .,dkq noa Oj jq ufkda uQ ,s l ia jrEmhla ys ñlr.ka fka h' ^The Psychedelic beauty& kuq ;a ta iq ka or;a jh fmdÿ rihla njg m;a ùfï È ta i|yd n,mdk jdia ;úl iq ka or;a jhla ^Objective beauty& o mj;s k wjia :d úoHd;a ul kHdh Tia fia fmka jd § we;' fN!;s luh jYfhka .;a l, YÍr p,khka f.a yeis Íu yd fh §u u; ys Èñka ta jd jdia ;úl ixl,a m hgf;a ú.% y l< yels h' idïm% odhs l Wvrg k¾;k p,khka f.a ^Kandyan Dance& jdia ;úl iq ka or;a jfhys fh §u ms <s n| wOHhkh ls ßu fuu m¾fha IKh Tia fia is ÿflf¾' uQ ,dY% Ndú;fha § m% d:ñl yd oa ú;S l uQ ,dY% mßYS ,kh is ÿlrk w;r .‚;fha fhÈï fhdod .ks ñka úfYa Ifhka *s fndkdÑ ^Fibonacci& l% ufõoh fuys È Ndú;d lr tu.s ka >Dcq o¾YkS h wdldrhg fm% dis kS hï fõÈldj úfYa I fldgf.k fuu p,k l% ufõoh l% s hd;a ul fõ' ms <s .;a .‚;uh Ndú; lrñka *s fndkdÖ ixLHd; yd rka wkq md; l% uh ^Golden ratio& hgf;a Wvrg k¾;k p,kfha jdia ;úl iq ka or;a jh ms <s n| Okd;a ul l;s ldjla f.dvke.S u u.s ka ,dxfla h k¾;kh ls hùu i|yd kj m% fõYhla újr ls Íug fuu m¾fha IKfhka W;a iq l fjhs '

Die nachfolgenden Forschungsarbeiten repräsentieren
drei Arten von Studien: Die Metaanalyse
kalkuliert aus den Ergebnissen einzelner
Studien eine Gesamtstatistik (Cochrane Library
2013). Das Scoping Review gilt als Vorstufe zum
Systematischen Review und unterscheidet sich
von ihm u. a. darin, dass es Forschungsfragen weit
fasst, Ein- und Ausschlusskriterien im Nachhinein
festlegt und Parameter und Lücken in der Literatur
identifiziert (Armstrong et al. 2011). Beim Cochrane
Review handelt es sich um ein Systematisches
Review der Literaturanalyse, welches einem
festgelegten Protokoll folgt und Ergebnisse kurz
und prägnant darstellt, um die Suche nach relevanten
Studienergebnissen zu erleichtern (Higgins
/ Green 2011).

Environmental, organizational and attitudinal obstacles continue to prevent people with vision loss from meaningfully engaging in dance education and performance. This article addresses the societal disabilities that handicap access to dance education for the blind. Although much of traditional dance instruction relies upon visual cuing and modeling, evidence suggests that dance can be successfully taught to blind students by integrating verbal and tactile modes of instruction. There is a need for professional development to train teachers in inclusion dance methodologies that specifically address the learning needs of students with vision loss. There is a further need for a significant paradigm shift towards the acceptance of blind people as dance students and performers with full capacity to experience, appreciate and expand the current boundaries of the art form. We surveyed fifteen parents of dance students with vision loss to assess their perceptions of the importance of dance education and the challenges of accessibility. Thematic content analyses indicated that
parents perceived benefits in health, socialization, and dance literacy. Parents also perceived a lack of accessibility to dance for students with vision loss. This article provides evidence of successful dance inclusion for the blind. We recommend integration of dance pedagogy specific to the needs of people with visual impairment in the training of our teachers and the teaching of our students. Spotlighted techniques include: somatic approaches, tactile modeling, physical guidance, oral description, and one-t-one partner teaching.

Note: please go to lifedance.com and scroll down to subscribe to emails, if you would like to stay in touch and learn about updates and applications of this work.

This chapter presents a framework for understanding the knowledge, skills and attitudes that support effective and ethical dance movement therapy (DMT) practice across cultural boundaries. I summarise and discuss a long-term qualitative inquiry conducted through cognitive-behavioural modelling, action research workshops and interviews with health, caring and managerial professionals from over 60 countries. Drawing on my application of the model in professional development programmes, my own clinical experience and interviews with other dance movement therapists, I discuss the implications of the ensuing Transcultural Competence model for DMT theory and practice. I provide a framework for practitioners to review their own practice and development needs, propose ways in which the DMT profession can be strengthened by giving greater attention to cultural issues in training and supervision, and make suggestions for future research.

Dit is een tekst die ik heb geschreven naar aanleiding van een wedstrijd rond het thema 'trauma'. In de tekst behandel ik eerst het fenomeen van langdurige vecht of vlucht respons op biologisch vlak, met behulpzame therapieën. De laatste therapie, TM, brengt ons naar de psychologie, meer bepaald naar het ego dat ons dan weer naar de sociologische stress leidt, waar we kop en staart van onze verkenning aan elkaar knopen door weer te keren naar TM ook op dit vlak beschouwd.

How can we understand the role of movement and kinaesthetic resonance in shaping our experience and knowledge? This paper gives a brief introduction to my current doctoral studies at Metanoia Institute/Middlesex University, where I am researching the experiences of psychotherapists. I have discovered my area of interest falls within Studies in Practical Knowledge, a growing research tradition in Scandinavia. This article presents some of the material I have gathered so far, focusing on working with embodied awareness in online Gestalt psychotherapy.

It’s an interesting topic and how I dance with that depends on how I interpret the word ‘drives’ I suppose. I could talk about Freud’s aggression and sexual impulses in drive theory, but I’d rather address one of my main drives; as sharing knowledge of embodied practice towards development, which can result in personal and societal empowerment, communication and healing, as we focus on the integrated body and mind.

Il  lavoro di tesi dal titolo Danza Mimesis Educazione. Riflessioni per una danza che nutra l’umano nell’uomo cerca di trovare una risposta all’ ipotesi secondo cui, se è vero che l’influenza della società è forte e visibile nella danza, può essere altrettanto verificabile che sia la stessa arte primaria dell’uomo (così come la definisce uno dei più grandi danzatori e teorici di sempre, Rudolf Laban) a indurre un cambiamento nella società in cui si sviluppa e vive. Può la danza essere considerata un dispositivo di cambiamento sociale? In altre parole, può avere una valenza educativa e pedagogica? Per poter indagare sull’argomento, si è ritenuto opportuno analizzare tre concetti principiali che potessero permettere alla ricerca di trovare un fondamento teorico ad una possibile risposta affermativa alle suddette questioni: Danza, Mimesis, Educazione. Partendo da una visione pedagogica che assegna all’educazione contemporanea il compito di far sì che l’individuo possa imparare a convivere con la complessità della società fluida per poter far di se stesso un “artista”, nel senso pirandelliano del termine, ossia per poter realizzare a pieno la propria esistenza, si è cavalcata l’ onda dell’utopia, l’unica che può permettere all’educazione di tornare ad essere il sano e gustoso nutrimento per l’umanità dell’essere umano, così come l’etimologia del termine “educare” suggerisce. L’educazione presa in considerazione nel presente lavoro, perciò, mira ad una presa di responsabilità da parte di chi se ne occupa, per poter svelare all’umanità tutta, un uomo alla volta, bambino per bambino,  quella condizione di “prigionia” che ci lascia incatenati all’interno della caverna platonica, incapaci di vedere l’essere proprio di ognuno e di ogni cosa. Per tornare a vedere ciò che ci rende simili, è necessario ri-scoprire il valore del corpo all’interno della relazione educativa, rapporto in cui non possono non avere un ruolo di primo piano le emozioni e soprattutto l’amore, inteso come agapé (passione per il benessere dell’altro). La danza si inserisce, allora, in questo contesto ma per giungere ad una risposta che sia il più possibile esaustiva, si è evidenziata la necessità di indagare sul come essa possa rappresentare una speranza di rivoluzione in termini di ri-scoperta dell’umano nell’uomo, a partire da una riflessione sul cosa si intenda per “danza”. Danza, nel presente lavoro e in accordo con uno dei più grandi teorici della storia della danza R. Garaudy, è un punto di vista, un modo di vivere che assume il movimento e la relazione come fondamento dell’umanità dell’essere umano. Danza è, perciò, l’attività che smuove l’e-motività degli uomini e delle donne e che li porta a comunicare in maniera del tutto sincera e priva di veli con l’altro da sé. Occorre sottolineare, perciò, che non è stato compito né intenzione del presente lavoro indicare se vi sia o meno uno stile di danza più alto e “veritiero” di altri. Ciò che è apparso utile è stato, piuttosto, rilevare quale valore possa assumere la danza in un contesto estremamente variegato e complesso come quello in cui viviamo. È sembrato, altresì, interessante analizzarne il carattere di strumento valido per risollevare l’educazione dalla profonda crisi che sta vivendo. Essa, infatti, quando non si presenta come una “danza di passi”, come un’attività che mira esclusivamente all’esteriorità, può essere uno strumento pedagogico molto valido, poiché non solo capace di evidenziare il ruolo primario del corpo, superando il macchinoso dualismo che lo vede scisso dall’anima, ma anche perché permette di valorizzare la creatività del bambino, pone al centro dell’apprendimento l’esperienza propria di ognuno, ristabilisce il ruolo primario del piacere nel processo di assimilazione e comprensione piuttosto che dell’utile, imponendo di concentrarsi sul processo invece che sul prodotto finale. In altre parole, la danza può permettere all’educazione di cambiare la propria direzione dalla logica del consumo alla logica della cura. Ciò le è possibile poiché essa, più di qualsiasi altra arte, incarna la capacità mimesica dell’uomo, che gli permette di rendersi simile all’altro da sé. La danza permette all’educazione di riflettere su se stessa, di modo che possa vedere che occorre superare quell’errata traduzione e concezione di mimesis come imitazione per poter tornare ad alimentare l’uomo ed, in particolare, il bambino, con un cibo nutriente per la propria umanità. La danza, come incarnazione della capacità mimesica, è proprio ciò che permettere di rendere visibile ciò che è invisibile, ciò che concerne l’unitarietà di ognuno e ciò che ci permette di renderci “artisti”. Incarnando l’altro da sé, attraverso una danza orientata dalla mimesis, l’uomo riesce ad in-tenderlo e ad as-similarlo così come non riuscirebbe utilizzando solamente le proprie capacità razionali. La pedagogia, dunque, non può più far finta di non vedere questo grande e naturale strumento a sua disposizione se vuole che l’agire educativo possa portare un reale cambiamento nella vita sociale e personale degli uomini

The Book titled “Hasta Mudra Therapy – An effective aspect of Dance Therapy” deals with various disciplines like Dance, Therapy, Dance Therapy, Hasta Mudra Therapy, Hasta Mudras used in Dance, Yoga, Hindu and Buddhist religious practices; Physiology of palm, Pharmacokinetics and Acupressure. This Book is the result of the PhD thesis titled “A study of Dance Therapy with specific reference to Hasta Mudra Therapy”, submitted to University of Hyderabad, Telangana, India, which fetched me a PhD degree. The research involved a comprehensive study and analysis of the above mentioned disciplines to substantiate the work and prove it scientifically. Dance is an ocean which has boundless and inexhaustible benefits hidden in it. Dance involves all the fine arts, it encompasses mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, management; it is closely associated to mythology; imbibes culture and tradition; involves language with technical grammar; improves communication skills & memory; cultivates discipline; it is a fitness health, entertainment & refreshment; imparts knowledge and above all it is divine and next to God. Dance can also be a mode of therapy, a skill which keeps you fit and good health. Practicing dance nurtures the body just like any other physical training or meditation. Although dance has been a method of expression for centuries, it wasn’t until recently that it was characterized as a form of therapy. Dance Therapy research has been undertaken to heal both physical and mental illness, however, Dance as a whole or Dance Movement analysis is only considered as the research topic. Dance Therapy research in specific to Hasta Mudras is not done till 2008, which prompted me to choose it as my PhD research topic, as most of the Indian classical Dance forms use the Hasta Mudras to communicate Dance. From the study, it is obvious that, Dance therapy and in specific Hasta Mudra Therapy, can be a potential alternative therapy which has been proved and established.

Introduces the role of neuromaturational and dynamical systems theory in child development and ensuing adult movement behavior. Highlights the work of physical therapist, Irmgard Bartenieff (1900 - 1982) and occupational therapist Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and the development of the somatic movement systems:  Bartenieff Fundamentals and Body-Mind Centering, respectively.  Compares and contrasts these two systems of human movement analysis and their perspectives in intervention with children and adults.  Shares Dr. Eddy's unique blend of these two systems in Dynamic Embodiment Somatic Movement Therapy.  Provides charts of different views of body organization and neuro-developmental organization in embryological and infant motor planning, as well as the reflex theory related to adult performance.  Also includes additional charts from the pedagogy of colleague Rachelle Tsachor.

This chapter explores an academic-creative collaboration that formed around 'The Confidence Project' led by Untold Dance Theatre, Bristol, UK, to evaluate the engagement of women in somatic movement workshops. I discuss how methods of inquiry such as body mapping, interviews and diaries informed a unique research evaluation process that acted as a feminist intra-vention. Rather than being a separate evaluation 'of' the creative project, our methodology was designed 'within' the somatic workshop process that experimented with the gendered contours of women's embodied confidence (including intersections with race, age, sexuality and so on). From this perspective, the research process can be understood as 'intra-active'-acting on, with and through the creative relations between researchers, choreographers, participants and the materiality of movement practices. As a feminist intra-vention, our arts-based collaboration sought to mobilise methods of embodied learning to unsettle the gender normativity that often frames women's lack of confidence as an individualised 'deficit'. Unlike many physical activity interventions that assume women's bodies are passive objects requiring interventions, such as instructional movement pedagogies, our project worked through a feminist ethics of engaging the sensory body through experimental movement, as well as drawing-talking about gendered embodiment. Body mapping methods have yet to be used in critical health and physical activity research and hence this project contributes to new approaches to researching gendered movement.

Therapy can be confusing: two people converse in a private room, one in distress, the other described as a helpful expert. At least one of the two is likely to express thoughts and feelings usually kept secret. In other circumstances, the exchange of such intimacies may herald a more physical relationship. For therapists, however, the professional relationship explicitly precludes such contact. The BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy,1 for example, requires that practitioners must not abuse their client’s trust in order to gain sexual, emotional, financial, or any other kind of personal advantage. Sexual relations with clients are prohibited, along with sexualised behaviour.

While psychotherapists and counsellors generally acknowledge that sexual attraction is a common and often ordinary human response to another, they also recognise that acting on such feelings in therapy will quickly become problematic. The early psychoanalytic community had to confront and respond to such instances as Jung’s relationship with Sabina Spielrein.2 Rosie Alexander’s3 description of the times she sat on her therapist’s knee and felt his erection, elicits a mixture of emotions in the reader, not least shock, and the narrative is saturated with a sense of betrayal.

There have been several types of research investigating boundary breaches and sexual boundary violations.4 In spite of these, however, there is little certainty about how common sexual boundary violations are, as the sources of information about them (confession, client reporting, complaints to organisations, and knowledge of colleagues’ conduct) are all vulnerable to error. Further studies have attempted to identify characteristics of transgressing therapists and the factors that contribute to such events (see Moggi et al5 for an example), and to understand the effects on clients who have experienced therapist-client sex.6 If sexual feelings are ubiquitous and sexual attraction a real possibility in the context of the therapy relationship, how are these managed in therapy? Complaints about sexual boundary violations form a small proportion of complaints about therapists and health professionals.4, 7, 8 Is it the prospect of opprobrium from colleagues or the threat of sanctions from regulatory agencies that contains the relationship within professional boundaries? Do reported violations represent only a small proportion of actual sexual boundary violations? .......

Over the years my work has taken me into a deeper investigation of how to re-inhabit ourselves and live a life guided by embodied wisdom, responding to the question: "Once we have experienced wounding, trauma, or loss that has resulted in a subjective experience of having left the body, how do we get back in?" My long-term work as a dance therapist with a depth analytic approach that integrates somatic processes, Jungian dreamwork, and creative arts therapy approaches has taught me that there are many roads to healing. My concern is that having been raised for so many generations according to patriarchal images of spiritual "ascent," together with the quest for personal and individualistic power, our technologically advanced and acquisitive culture has caused us to nearly forget its vital counterpart: the feminine path to individuation through "descent."

Snowber, C. Embodied Inquiry: Writing, Living and Being through the Body. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2016.

Embodied Inquiry is offered to all who want to deepen the connection to their bodies. Here is the inspiration to see your body as a place of inquiry, learning, understanding and perceiving. Listening to the sensual knowing and aliveness within the body can inform our personal and professional lives and reveal the connections between living, being, and creating. Snowber writes this book in poetic and visceral language as a love letter from the body wooing readers to inhabit their own skins and celebrate the beautiful and paradoxical place where limitations and joy dwell together. Touching on the vastness of our body's call to us, Embodied Inquiry explores solitude, paradox, inspiration, lament, waking up to the sensuous, ecology, listening, and writing from the body. This is not a manual, but a book to accompany you in befriending the body and let your own gestures, stories and bodily ways of being lead you to listen to your own rhythm. Whether an artist or educator, researcher or administrator, performer or poet, seeker or scientist, you will find this book as a companion to sustain a vibrant life and co-create a better world.