Musings of a Dance/Movement Therapist

Associacion Argentina de Danzaterapia

For some beautiful images of dance therapy, see the Argentinian Association of Dance Therapy's website.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE KINESTHETIC EMPATHY: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS 22 AND 23 APRIL 2010

An International Conference hosted by the Watching Dance Project 22 and 23 April 2010 at Hulme Hall, University of Manchester

What is kinesthetic empathy?

This is the central question of this upcoming conference in the UK.

"Spectators of dance experience kinesthetic empathy when, even while sitting still, they feel they are participating in the movements they observe, and experience related feelings and ideas."

The person who watches dancing does none of the physical work themselves but in perceiving the performance they experience the rhythm of it as though it were in their own body.  When attention is brought to the line and curves of the physical environment through the choreography, the audience starts to experience a building with the same sense of movement that they observe in dance...."

Akinleye, A., GEOGRAPHY OF THE BODY, DanceUK News, Issue 70, Autumn 2008, p.21.

The Octaband - So Simple, So Versatile and Makes People So Happy

Caryl Derenfeld, owner of Learned Conversations, Inc., and Certified Laughter Yoga Leader shares her experiences with the Octaband with elders.

"It is amazing how simple things can make people smile, pique their curiousity and be so happy at any age.  Whenever I take out the Octaband, smiles abound and everyone wants to know what we will do with it.  People WANT to move when they have their wrists in the sleeves; we've done 'freestyle' movement, guided movements (up, down, circles) to music; I have had a staff member sit underneath the central circle part and bob it up and down and got patients with later stage dementia to engage and smile.  So simple, so versatile and so happy!  That's how I'd describe your product."

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As Caryl Derenfeld says, "The need to maintain social circles does not diminish with age. We all still need each other to keep our well being and humanity intact." Find out more about her innovative, interactive approaches that integrate psychosocial and pastoral elements.

I will be selling the Octaband at the American Dance Therapy Conference Oct. 8 - 11 in Portland, OR and at the American Music Therapy Conference Nov. 12-14 in San Diego, CA. Or you can purchase the Octaband by clicking on it on the left side bar.

Bill T. Jones ~ Dancing Around Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's Legacy Celebrated In Dance

As a child, choreographer Bill T. Jones says he was only allowed to love one white man unconditionally: Abraham Lincoln. Now, he has created a piece for the Ravinia Festival to commemorate the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, called "Fondly Do We Hope … Fervently Do We Pray." Hear it on NPR's Talk of the Nation, aired September 21, 2009.

Jones, choreographer extraordinaire and a brilliantly articulate and embodied thinker and dancer, talks about how his company explored the topic of Lincoln the man and its relevance to the culturally diverse dancers of his company through dance as well as through talking

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Oprah Says "It's the Coolest Thing Ever"

Oprah's Kickoff Party Dance

It's the flash mob that took over Chicago's Magnificent Mile. Watch 21,000 of Oprah's biggest fans perform one of the biggest dances in the world to the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling."  Check out this video. 21,000 people dancing!!!

As I attempt to organize my piles of papers and articles in anticipation of beginning a new year of teaching dance/movement therapy students, I have come across some of my favorite quotations from Norma Canner's 1975 book, ... and a time to dance.  Here is one such quotation as Norma is describing creative movement with young children.

"dancing with young children, providing them with an opportunity to ex;ore and discover their bodies, their feelings, and the textures, shapes, and sounds around them, alone or in a group. It is an environment in which the shy child can lose his inhibitions when intrigued by strange, exciting insstruments and materials. It is an environment in which the aggressive child is given an outlet for pent-up energies or hostile feelings. It is when every child is offered a time to experience the joy and freedom of using his body and his creative uniqueness ... a time to dance."

I am grateful to Norma for her many years of teaching and mentoring myself and my colleagues in the dance/movement therapy specialization of the Expressive Therapies Program at Lesley University. And I look forward to my upcoming class and the opportunity to pass on some of what I have learned from Norma.

Staying in Sync Dance/movement Remedies to Mind-body Problems by Bob Stott

Somehow, I missed this wonderful article about dance/movement therapy in the February 25, 2008 therapytimes, a multi-disciplinary online resource. In this article, Stott provides a compelling image of a woman experiencing disassociation as  she is being treated by a dance/movement therapist. What comes through the description vividly is the understanding that the dance of dance/movement therapy is the dance of interaction between client and therapist, and not simply the expressive movement of the client. In his description he speaks of the therapist's reassuring tone, moving closer, moving together, and making eye contact.

"The dance/movement therapist works on the premise that the mind and the body are interrelated, and the disturbances of one can often be seen by the reactions of the other. Not all people who are experiencing mental duress or overcoming a particularly traumatic experience react to it in the same way; many people, unsure of how to deal with the enormity of their feelings or how to express these feelings to others, attempt to repress the entire event."

Stott goes on to quote Susan Kleinman, MA, ADTR, NCC, a dance/movement therapist who works with people with eating disorders for residential and outpatient services at the Coconut Creek-based Renfrew Center of Florida.

“The language of the body is, in essence, our ‘native language’, since human beings communicate through their bodies long before they learn to talk. . . As we develop, we add words to our communication; however, body language remains our most acute means of recognizing our needs and expressing ourselves.”

Stott also talks about the work that dance/movement therapist Gayle Gates, MA, ADTR, NCC, LPC, does with autistic children at the Philadelphia-based Green Tree School. This article is a must read for anyone interested in learning more about/dance movement therapy.

Staying in Sync Dance/movement Remedies to Mind-body Problems by Bob Stott

Somehow, I missed this wonderful article about dance/movement therapy in the February 25, 2008 therapytimes, a multi-disciplinary online resource. In this article, Stott provides a compelling image of a woman experiencing disassociation as  she is being treated by a dance/movement therapist. What comes through the description vividly is the understanding that the dance of dance/movement therapy is the dance of interaction between client and therapist, and not simply the expressive movement of the client. In his description he speaks of the therapist's reassuring tone, moving closer, moving together, and making eye contact.

"The dance/movement therapist works on the premise that the mind and the body are interrelated, and the disturbances of one can often be seen by the reactions of the other. Not all people who are experiencing mental duress or overcoming a particularly traumatic experience react to it in the same way; many people, unsure of how to deal with the enormity of their feelings or how to express these feelings to others, attempt to repress the entire event."

Stott goes on to quote Susan Kleinman, MA, ADTR, NCC, a dance/movement therapist who works with people with eating disorders for residential and outpatient services at the Coconut Creek-based Renfrew Center of Florida.

“The language of the body is, in essence, our ‘native language’, since human beings communicate through their bodies long before they learn to talk. . . As we develop, we add words to our communication; however, body language remains our most acute means of recognizing our needs and expressing ourselves.”

Stott also talks about the work that dance/movement therapist Gayle Gates, MA, ADTR, NCC, LPC, does with autistic children at the Philadelphia-based Green Tree School. This article is a must read for anyone interested in learning more about/dance movement therapy.

Psychosocial Needs of People with Memory Impairment

I picked up a copy of the March 2007 issue of Creative Forecasting when presenting on Enlivening Elders through Movement and selling Octabands at a New York State Therapeutic Recreation Association conference a couple of years ago. Creative Forecasting® is a 56-page monthly magazine for Activity and Recreation Professionals working in long term care and assisted living facilities...

I found the following article to be right-on as far as things to remember when working with people with dementia. Under each identified need, Allen has provided a focus and helpful reminders. I will quote just one to protect copyright interests.

Opportunities for Memory-impaired Residents, Cathy Allen, CTRS, RCFE

Psychosocial Needs

The psychosocial needs of memory-impaired residents are divided into the following eight areas.

Dignity
Identity
Sense of Control
Self-esteem
Belonging/inclusion
Intimacy/love
Security
Meaning/purpose

"Sense of Control

Focus: Control is related to the residents' need to make an impact on their environment through a sense of well-being and self-respect.

Helpful Reminders:

• Provide tasks and activity programs memory-impaired residents can participate in and complete.
• Provide ongoing support to the residents during activities which enhance their success.
• Remember the illusion of control is important when real control is absent.
• Ensure the environment is appropriate to the needs of the residents (i.e., free of hazards, good lightin, circular paths indoors and outdoors, picture signs, personal and familiar items).
• Memory-impaired residents need to have freedom to more around and make choices."

Patients Embrace Argentine Tango as New Therapy

An  Aug 31, 2009 article by Luis Andres Henao points out the therapeutic benefits of Argentine tango all around the world for people with Parkinson's Disease, dementia, mental illness, etc.

Several years ago at an American Dance Therapy Association conference, I was fortunate to take a wonderful workshop with Maria Eugenia Lacour, a medical doctor and dance therapist in Argentina using tango with women diagnosed with breast cancer. Dr. Lacour's presentation was very moving and informative as she spoke about the way that the tango helped these women deal with issues of body image and assertiveness, among other things. Dr. Lacour has been a guest lecturer for dance/movement therapy courses at University CAECE.

While I am not an expert in the tango, I use tango music and some dramatic traditional tango moves in my work as a dance/movement therapist with elders and people with dementia. I used Perfidia, a version by John Altman from Shall We Dance in a group I led with healthy elders the other day. These were Russian and Chinese speaking immigrants who didn't speak English nor each others' languages, nor did I speak theirs. They were very responsive to the drama and excitement of the music and the movement and they improvised with one another, making new connections and breaking down cultural barriers. The people with dementia with whom I work are also very responsive to this music and style of dance.

Attend the American Dance Therapy Association's 44th Annual Conference October 8-11 in Portland, Oregon and learn more about the dance/movement therapists’ unique, in-depth, understanding of how the body and mind interact in health and illness, and how dance/movement therapy, an evidence-based mental health discipline, can assist in offering an outlet for symbolic expression and transformation that improves emotional, behavioral, medical, and physical conditions for a healthier society at large. View a slide show for the conference here.