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“Author : Jenisha Shah, Clinical Psychologist and Therapeutic Movement Facilitator, Mpower The Centre, Mumbai”
New Delhi, April 29, 2022:
Anna Pavlova has rightly said, “Dance is the purest expression of emotion”. Across people and cultures, dance has varied meanings. What is common though, is that it is an expression of one’s emotions via movement. It may not always be beautiful, people don’t always understand it, and it’s often difficult to come up with a single perspective on one’s dance.
The Indian Association of Dance Movement Therapy (IADMT) defines dance therapy as the use of movement and creative expression to promote socio-emotional, cognitive, and somatic integration. This method is founded on the idea that the body and mind are inextricably linked. It aids in self-expression, resulting in a shift in an individual’s overall functioning.”
Dance movement therapy isn’t just for dancers, and it’s certainly not a dance class. A dance lesson emphasizes style and form, whereas dance movement therapy does not. In the case of the latter, people aren’t judged on how well they execute the steps or how they appear while dancing. Individuals are encouraged to communicate their feelings and thoughts while moving during dance movement therapy sessions.Dance treatments are used in a variety of settings, including health, education, and social services, in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
It may be recommended as a primary service or as a complement to other forms of ongoing treatment, rehabilitation or education. The therapy can be short-term or long-term. Engaging an individual does not require any dance skills or training just the willingness to move. The focus is on the therapeutic process, and here’s how it can help:
- Dance Movement therapy can help individuals, with different abilities, capacities and life conditions since it works with their bodies at that particular phase of life.
- Individuals with developmental, medical, social, physical, and psychological problems benefit from dance movement therapy. It has been used to assist persons with learning impairments, and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, and ADHD, among others. Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, mood and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, mobility disorders, sensory processing disorders, trauma, and even violence prevention are just some of the conditions that can be treated. Dance movement therapy can help those who are battling with communication challenges, body image issues, chronic pain, and adjustment issues.
- As language is not a barrier to movement, it can be used in individual, couple, family, and group therapy forms with people of different ages, races, and ethnic backgrounds.
- Self-awareness, self-perception, confidence, producing a sense of peace, relational talents, and mindfulness are all benefits of dance therapy. It has been shown to reduce pressure, anxiety, and nerves, as well as feelings of disengagement and body strain.
- Movement aids in the learning of how to transform nonverbal movements into insights that can be applied to one’s recovery process.
Each one of us can move, each one of us has a movement language. All of us can dance! The idea of this therapy is getting aware of your body, feeling, accepting, and working on yourself.
Participants in dance movement therapy are not required to start dancing as soon as the music starts, unlike in a dance class. It’s all about the journey, not the destination!
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