Task 4d - Literature

I am not sure if YouTube videos count as literature but this video has really sparked further interest for me. One particular website I have found relating to my inquiry interest was dancevoice.org.uk. This organisation is home to Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP), reading through the various pages on their site I became more and more intrigued about the effects of art therapy, dance therapy in particular. So, I went on YouTube (I personally get a lot more out of a video then text) and typed in Dance Movement Psychotherapy and found 'An Introduction to Dance/Movement Therapy' delivered by Nana Koch from the American Dance Therapy Association. Just the way she delivers the talk is captivating. I am inspired, I am awed and now even more interested to delve deeper.

Nana Koch gave her definition of Dance Therapy as: 'the psychotherapeutic use of movement  that furthers the emotional, cognitive, physical and the social integration of the individual'. Surely, anything that can further these aspects of persons life is worth looking into and worth taking part in - whether you have extra needs or not.

She described the sessions structure: More often than not they would start the class in a circle, in a circle everyone is seen, in a circle everyone is equal. The students would then be asked to present a gesture that represented their feelings, this would give the teacher an opportunity to gage the way the class felt and who, perhaps, needed more encouragement to express themselves. The teacher could try delve deeper by asking 'what made them choose that gesture?'. They would then do a warm up, development and then a closure. During the closure, the teacher may ask the student  to, once again, present a gesture to represent their feelings. I feel this is important not only because it book ends the class and adds routine to the sessions, but it is a way of allowing the teacher and the student to acknowledge what the class has achieved.

Two final thoughts she left the viewer with were:

'A dance therapy session is the choreography of emotions in the service of the client.'

'The spark of life started with a movement and dance therapists use those sparks to ignite feelings in those lives who have dimmed.'

That last quote is so powerful. What a feeling it must be to reignite feelings in someone, however small the spark.

Here is the link if you would like to watch the video:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhoEjbvIEw8