Musings of a Dance/Movement Therapist

YouTube - The T-Mobile Dance

YouTube - The T-Mobile Dance.

Check this out for a wonderful example of the joyous nature of dance in community. I hope T Mobile paid lots of people to dance.

Dance Therapy with People with Dementia - Being in the Present

Having worked with elders with dementia over the past 30 years, I know the effectiveness of dance. I walk into a room where each person is in her own world, not communicating. I put on music and dance or move rhythmically with people, and suddenly they are attentive, engaged, smiling and communicating for at least parts of the hour group I lead. As I end the group and begin gathering up my things, even with music still on and before I walk out the door, they are lost in their own worlds once again. Dance always happens in the present, and people with dementia need to be in the present. In the "Alzheimer's Daily News" in January, Richard Taylor, who himself has Alzheimer's Disease, talked about the need for people to be with people with dementia in present-centered ways.

You can find more information about dance/movement therapy with Alzheimer's put out by the American Dance Therapy Association here.

Dance Therapist Ilene Serlin on the Editorial Board of The Humanistic Psychologist

Ilene Serlin has been invited to join the Editorial Board of The Humanistic Psychologist, a peer-reviewed journal for the  Division of Humanistic Psychology of the American Psychological  Association. Many thanks to Ilene and her high degree of professionalism. She illuminates the world about the profession of dance/movement therapy through her writings and workshop presentations.

Using the Octaband to explore spatial tension in Laban A & B scales

Grace Ho  took the Laban module program at LIMS (Laban Institute for Movement Studies) in January. She brought the eight arm OctabandTM to class, and they used it to play with and explore the spatial pull or spatial tension in the A & B scales.  Grace said, "we did have a lot of fun with that!" Thanks to photographer and dance/movement therapist Grace, and Dale Andree and Susan Boon Scarth, pictured.


Using the OctabandTM on both arms and legs, there's a whole lot of movement going on.

Thanks for letting us share these, Grace, Dale and Susan.