Dance as Our Source in Dance/Movement Therapy Education and Practice

Author: Capello, Patricia¹

Source: American Journal of Dance Therapy, Volume 29, Number 1, June 2007 , pp. 37-50(14)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

The 12th International Panel of the American Dance Therapy Association has investigated the cultural foundations of dance that are the source of dance/movement therapy education and practice. This article addresses how the diversity of ethnic dance styles may have therapeutic implications and what social or psychological functions these dance forms fulfill in their unique cultures. This article also provides both historic and present-day illustrations of the impact of cultural forms on therapy. Similarities were apparent in the use of traditional folkdances, particularly those in circle formations and the cross-cultural experience of simple, repetitive communal movements that are at the foundation of dance/movement therapy sessions worldwide. Diversity was demonstrated in the description of the origins (both from nature and human sources) of each culture's unique dance and in the distinctive, descriptive stories that “tell the tale” of every folk form.

Keywords: Cultural foundations; dance; international panel; diversity; education; therapeutic implications; NDEO (National Dance Educator Organization); training; culture; France; Germany; Greece; Czech Republic; Japan; Korea; Finland; Taiwan; Argentina; India; dance/movement therapy