Dance psychotherapy. Dance therapy: how does dancing decorate our lives? Dance movement therapy: theory and practice

Since ancient times, people have used dance as a tool for relationships. People danced during all significant events, in anticipation and in glory of what happened. This happened behind the doors of the woman in labor and near her deathbed. With the development of civilization, dancing has become a subject of art for humans. They were assigned a strict place, and the occasions for dancing were limited to the limits of decency. But human nature has a love for dance, and then dance therapy was invented.

The basics of this science were laid down by famous psychologists. Among them are such as Freud, Adler, Jung. This science was propagated by A. Duncan, M. Wigman, Rudolf von Laban.

The first dance therapist in the world is considered to be the American dancer Marion Chace. She worked in the 30s of the last century. Her work was based on strict training in the rules of various dances. However, the woman noticed that people were dancing more relaxed and were giving in to the invented movements with more enthusiasm. Their body relaxes, and a smile plays on their faces. She began to base her lessons on combining spontaneous dance and traditional movements.

To help emotions get out, a person must dance.

In 1966, the first dance association of America was founded. In the 90s, a movement that was popular in the West at that time came to us.

Dance movement therapy: theory and practice

Dance therapy has a positive effect on people who do not know how to express emotions and suffer from it. Classes with dance therapists are conducted both individually and in groups. The course teacher must have a background in psychology and dance. The principle of working in a group is simple - those present receive a task, complete it and share their impressions with each other.

The benefits of dance therapy are threefold:

Health, blood supply and physical fitness are normalized;
A person, feeling himself in a new hypostasis, gains greater strength;
Learns using body language.

Classes help:

Group dance therapy

The difference between teaching in group dance therapy is that the people who come to the group become one part of the whole process. They look like a round dance or improvisation in a group. Special treatment is paid to the synchronicity of gestures and movements, the unity of students’ experiences. Groups are divided into pairs, where one of the partners plays the chosen role, and the second tries, with the help of body movements, to force him to abandon his position. Many students complain that new faces appear in groups and familiar ones disappear. But this helps those who remain learn to quickly adapt to changes and find mutual understanding with new people.

Dance therapists try to teach people to understand a partner through his movements, to look for the true background of his actions and actions. Conversations in the group give way to dancing, where each of those listened to expresses their thoughts with the help of dance steps. If group members are inclined to talk today, classes are held in the form of a monologue followed by discussion. If they want to dance more than talk today, the teacher follows the wishes of the group.

Dance therapy - exercises

There are several exercises that all dance therapists use in their lessons. If you are unable to visit dance groups, take advantage of their work in independent studies. So, exercises for dance therapy:

Dance individual parts bodies.

Turn on the music and dance. First with one hand, then with the other, then with each leg separately and so on. Be sure to “dance” with your face – lips, eyes, forehead muscles. As you dance, remember what feelings you had at what moment. Write them down in a notepad.

We move as best we can.

Now, whichever one you like best, and dance to it as you see fit. Change the motive to the opposite one and move to it. Write down how your mood changed depending on the change in dance and music.

Music style.

Select musical works V different styles. Try to exclude those that you don't like. Play in a row and dance, choosing movements spontaneously. Record your attitude towards each style and write down your feelings.

In front of the mirror.

Dance while looking at yourself in the mirror. How does the person dancing on the other side of the reflective surface make you feel?

Change your clothes.

Try putting on a costume show for yourself. According to each musical style, dress up and dance.

Are you a tiger or a rabbit?

Pretend you are an animal and move like the character you are portraying. Now explain why you chose a tiger, a rabbit or a kitten.

Try to move to the music the way you imagine doing something. For example, washing or ironing clothes. Take your regular activities as a template - brushing your teeth, eating, shaving, etc. Change movements, experiment.

Professional dance.

Play music videos or TV shows with lots of music and professional dancing. Copy their movements and steps. How does this make you feel?

Place a reproduction of the painting in front of you. Try to express her mood through dance.

We dance like others.

Remember how your friends dance. Reproduce their movements. How did this make you feel?

Sitting position.

Sit on the floor and move to the music while sitting.

Lying position.

Now stretch out on the bed or floor and continue dancing to the music.

Imagination.

Turn on some music, close your eyes, and try to imagine how you would like to move to it.

"Partner".

Take a toy, chair or umbrella as your partner. Whatever comes to your mind and doesn’t interfere with your movement will be suitable as a “partner” for dancing.

And so on until you can hold objects in your hands, armpits and between your legs.

Who needs dance therapy?

People who feel disharmony between body and spirit turn to dance therapists. This feeling comes from early years when a child does not feel the love of his parents and people around him, when he is haunted by a feeling of guilt for his actions, when he independently has to learn to survive in the world around him. Including if in adolescence the person felt dissatisfied with his body. This feeling does not disappear over the years. A person seeks and finds in dance therapy awareness of himself, body and personality.

The whole process is built on the struggle of opposites or the achievements of what was considered unattainable. In addition, a person, discovering new possibilities in himself, learns to think creatively. He views himself with different points vision, begins to look at things realistically, and correctly evaluate actions and misdeeds.

Dance therapists enable students to feel the rhythm of music and express inner feelings through body movements. They evoke from the hidden corners of every person’s soul those experiences and problems that have never found solutions. They help find answers to questions that people have been looking for in vain for years.

Conceptual introduction:

The main goal of dance and movement therapy is to gain feeling and awareness of one’s own “I”.

School rules require children and adolescents to be perseverant, patient, and to complete assigned tasks. IN correctional work For an educational psychologist, the method of dance therapy for working with children is necessary and important. Since people (children, teenagers) under our modern culture they begin to treat their body as an object, they are alienated from their body. Behavior in society requires the ability to control one’s body, to give it some form, form, and to restrain oneself. This leads to intrapersonal conflicts, low self-esteem, isolation and, of course, complexes develop.

Dance therapy invites the body to “conversation”, gives it the opportunity to “speak out” and relax. In dance, a person develops physically and emotionally; the body and consciousness are considered as equal forces. Dance therapy is more interested in how movement feels rather than how it looks.

Joan Smallwood identified three components of the therapeutic process when conducting dance therapy:

1. Awareness (of body parts, breathing, feelings, images, non-verbal “double messages” (when there is dissonance between a person’s verbal and non-verbal message).
2. Increasing the expressiveness of movements (development of flexibility, spontaneity, diversity of movement elements, including factors of time, space and force of movement, defining the boundaries of one’s movement and expanding them).
3. Authentic movement (spontaneous, dance-movement improvisation, coming from an internal sensation, including the experience of experiences and feelings and leading to personality integration).

Operating principles of a dance therapy group:

• voluntariness of participation;
• “here and now”;
• confidentiality;
• open expression of feelings;
• responsibility;
• activity.

Target: promoting physical and emotional integration of the personality of group members.

Tasks:

• deepening group members' awareness own body;
• development of awareness of the possibilities of using the body, ways of expressing feelings;
• establishment by group members of a connection between feelings and movements, release and exploration of feelings through dance expression.

Greeting - bow.

Stages of work: Stage I – warming up

Target: Help each participant prepare their body for work.

Materials: Music player, music recordings.

Exercise “Dance of individual body parts”

Goals: Warming up the participants; awareness and release of muscle tension; expansion of expressive repertoire.

Materials: A musical recording with a clear rhythmic pattern.

Time: 3 min.

I invite all participants to stand in a circle. We will start our lesson with a warm-up. I will name in turn the parts of the body whose dance we will perform. Everyone comes up with their own moves.

• hand dance
• hand dance
• head dance
• shoulder dance
• belly dance
• foot dance

Participants strive to use the named body part as much as possible in the dance.

Issues for discussion:

• Which dance was easy to perform and which was difficult?
• How did you feel while dancing?
• Was it difficult or easy to come up with your own movements?

II. Stage – Main activity

Goals: Deepening the group members’ awareness of their own body; development of awareness of the possibilities of using the body, ways of expressing feelings; establishment by group members of a connection between feelings and movements, release and exploration of feelings through dance expression.

Exercise “Actor director”

Goals: acquisition of new motor experience, awareness by participants of their dance-expressive stereotypes.

Materials: rhythmic music.

Lead time: 10 minutes

Usually our movements are quite stereotypical and now we will try to change these movements with you.

And the first task will be to perform simple movements. I will call them words, and you will carry them out. From the beginning it’s stereotypically simple, like you do it every day, and then in some special way, like you’ve never done before.

Squats,

The next exercise is very interesting. It’s called “Actor, Director.” Now let's split into pairs. One will be an actor, the other a director. The actor begins to make voluntary movements. When the word “shift” is uttered by the director, the actor radically changes his movements. The task is completed within 2 minutes. Next, change roles and continue for another 2 minutes.

Discussion: Now I propose to discuss your new motor experience. How did you feel? What have you experienced? Your attitude? What movements of your partner did you notice?

Exercise: “Following the Leader”

Goals: Participants experimenting with different movements and interpersonal positions of leader and follower; participants' awareness of their dance-expressive stereotypes.

Materials: Musical recordings of different styles that stimulate dance expression.

Time: 10 min.

For the next exercise we need to divide into groups of 4-5 people.

Each group of 4-5 people should line up in a row, each group should have its own leader standing opposite the group. The leader must perform dance movements of the most unusual nature, and the rest of the group members repeat after him, copying him. When the music changes, the leader stands at the end of the snake, and the one who walked immediately behind him becomes the leader, and must perform all the same functions. Everyone must bring their own movements and features. All group members must act as a facilitator at least once.

Discussion: Describe what you experienced? How did you feel as a leader and as a follower? What was more difficult for you to come up with movements or repeat? Please describe your feelings from the exercise performed.

Exercise “Name”

I suggest doing the following exercise “Name”. Your task is to take turns showing your name in motion. Because you want it. How do you see your name. And be sure to say it.

Discussion: Describe your mood?

Now we will complicate the exercise. Now you and I will all take turns repeating the movement and saying the name of each participant.

Discussion: How do you feel now, describe?

III. Stage - Completion

Goals: Restoration of breathing; relieving tension and emotional arousal; consolidation of the results obtained during the training.

Materials: music player,

Exercise “Sunrise”

Goals: Relieving tension and emotional arousal; positive thinking attitude.

Materials: slow, calm music.

Time: 3 min.

Procedure: The group sits in a circle in their places. Relaxing music plays. The presenter slowly and clearly pronounces the following text: “Our training is coming to an end, but as philosophers say, any end is the beginning of something new. In our case, this will be awareness of oneself, one’s capabilities, unity with shared universe and its power, the integration of soul and body. Sit comfortably. Relax. You can close your eyes, or you can leave them open. Try to transport your inner vision to the pre-dawn seconds, when the sky becomes lighter and the sun is about to rise. Look around. Nature seems to have frozen in anticipation of the sun. Trees, animals, insects - all are filled with extraordinary silence, as if transported, in their anticipation, to magical land, between dreams and reality, between night and day, darkness and light. A country that is not on any map of the world. A country where everything is possible. Wait too. Wait for the sunrise, like your first love, with the same deep expectation, with such hope and enthusiasm. Silently. Now, let the sun rise! Let its rays warm you with their warmth and light. Take a deep breath. As you inhale, imagine a golden light entering through your head into your body, as if the sun had risen very close to your head. You are simply empty, and the golden light fills your head and goes deep, deep down to your toes. When you inhale, imagine it. This golden light will help, it will cleanse your entire body and fill it with creativity. Feel how the magical warmth of the sun spreads throughout your body, through every cell of it. Save these feelings. Take another deep breath. Now you can open your eyes, those who had them closed, take your usual position. From now on, if ever in your life you feel anxious, afraid, sad, stressed, let your inner sun rise...”

And, of course, we cannot finish our classes without thanking ourselves and each other for the good work.

Exercise “Clever girl”

Performed standing or sitting.

Leading. We stretch our arms forward, at the same time reach for them and say: “Clever girl” (we stretch out the “U” sound).

Exercise “Well done”

Performed standing or sitting.

Leading. We stretch our arms to the sides, at the same time lean forward, look at our right hand and say: “Well done” (we emphasize and draw out the letter “e”, while directing the sound to the diaphragm).

Thanks to these exercises, tension caused by stress is relaxed and the formation of a number of important skills is improved. In addition, these exercises give a confident, positive attitude.

Discussion: How did you feel doing the last three exercises?

What sensations did you experience, what feelings did you experience?

And as expected, we need to stand in a circle and bow. Now with a bow we will thank each other for working together.

Literature:

1. O. Oshurkova “ Fairy tale about the dream” magazine “ School psychologist" [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://psy.1september.ru/view_article.php?id=200900606
2. Dance therapy [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://womanadvice.ru/tancevalnaya-terapiya
3. Training “Dance Therapy” [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://www.psyoffice.ru/4-0-5609.htm
4. I. Dzhibladze “Dance therapy training” [Electronic resource]. - Access mode:

Dance therapy is a completely unique phenomenon. What is it? This is a branch of psychotherapy in which movement and dance promote both physical and emotional integration of the individual. This method rich story. And in general, it is of some interest. So I would like to pay special attention to this topic.

About the prerequisites

All people who are at least a little familiar with folklore, history and art are well aware that dance has been an integral part of various rituals, community life and other practices from time immemorial. It's more than just moving to music. Dance had sacred, communicative, identification, expressive and recreational functions. It helped to freely express oneself, communicate with partners, emotionally discharge and relieve physical stress. In fact, dance still performs all of the above functions today.

The healing properties of dance in the 20th century prompted specialists in the field of psychotherapy to use it as a new method of treatment. In addition, at that time this genre appeared and became completely special. After all, it was in it that the individuality of each person and the importance of the personal were emphasized. The first dance therapists were people like Mary Wigman and Rudolf Laban.

And, of course, when talking about the prerequisites, one cannot fail to note the teaching. This specialist assured that all unexpressed experiences and emotions by a person do not disappear anywhere. They accumulate in the muscles. And unique “blocks” appear. In general, dance movement therapy, the exercises of which will be discussed a little later, refers to the teachings of Reich. Or more precisely, to how a specialist explains the work of psychosomatic mechanisms. But his methods as such are not used.

In Russia

In our country, this trend appeared not very long ago - in the 90s. And initially the concept of dance therapy was not even defined. The theory goes that in Russia it was initially presented as a method of personal growth and development. But in 1995 the concept already appeared. And after him - ATDT (Association of Dance and Movement Therapy). It was organized in Moscow. And ATDT works with the support of the American, European and International Associations.

Now TDT is an independent direction in psychotherapy. And the range of its application is very wide. Dance therapy is aimed at combating stress, Parkinson's disease, autism, post-traumatic disorders, etc.

About the principles

Like any other treatment method, this one is based on certain provisions and rules. They are also followed by doctors working in this area. The essence of the main principle is that the human body and his psyche are inseparable. And they constantly interact with each other. Dance is also perceived as a way of communication. And a person engaged in TDT comes into contact with himself, his partner and the whole world.

Another important principle is the unity of thoughts, feelings and behavior. Because any change in one aspect entails changes in the other two. This, by the way, demonstrates the principle of integrity. Also, the “highlight” is the perception of your body as not an object or object, but a process. The very awareness of this is reflected in the result, presenting the desired effect. And one more important principle - during the practice of dance therapy, the specialist turns to creative resources man as an endless source of creative energy and vitality.

Goals

Dance therapy for children and adults is aimed at achieving the same results. The main goal is to expand the scope of awareness of your body, as well as its capabilities and characteristics. It is important that a person is able to develop confidence in himself and improve his self-esteem. For this purpose, doctors are engaged in the development of the patient’s body, instilling in him a love for this matter.

Another goal is to improve social skills and integrate internal experience. It is important that the person during treatment establishes a special connection between movements, thoughts and feelings.

Methods

It is worth noting that there are different groups dance therapy. The main one is clinical. This is an auxiliary type of therapy that forms an effective symbiosis in terms of treatment with medications prescribed to patients. Clinical TDT can last a long time - sometimes for several years. But efficiency demands it. By the way, it helps patients especially well with speech and interpersonal communication disorders (that is, communication). By the way, clinical TDT appeared more than 75 years ago.

TDT is also widely used in people with psychological problems. And this type of therapy is much more complex than the previously mentioned one. Because it is aimed at solving specific problems person. And such TDT is carried out both in a group with other patients and individually. The method is usually based on analytical psychology.

There is also dance therapy for those people who do not have any problems, but want something more from their lives. For example, using TDT to find out your hidden “I”, find a new way of self-expression and begin to interact with others.

Innovation

As mentioned at the beginning, TDT gained popularity not so long ago. Which is not surprising, because this is innovation. When working with patients, the doctor uses skills, abilities and knowledge that relate to psychology, creativity, art, physiology and therapy. It is important. After all, almost every disease is psychosomatic. And until the moment when the disease begins to manifest itself at the bodily level, it appears in the subconscious. That is, at the mental level.

TDT is special in that during its implementation great attention is paid not only to thought processes and cognitive methods of rehabilitation, but also to the physical and creative part. That is, simply put, both hemispheres are involved. And this is what a harmonious and holistic person needs. And be that as it may, the most unexplored aspect of our world today is precisely man. Namely, how his body interacts with his psyche.

Benefit

Dance therapy, which has a very interesting history, is truly effective. It is the best way to minimize physical stress and increase human mobility. If you believe Reich’s notorious theory, it turns out that that same muscle “tightness” is eliminated. After all, a person begins to move, express his feelings and emotions during the dance. And the accumulated energy that was spent on maintaining the muscle “clamp” finds its application.

The value of artistic experiences is very great. In dance, they even extract from the unconscious needs and drives that the patient might not even be aware of. In other words, he simply gets rid of them.

In addition, TDT is an excellent way for non-verbal interaction. It is for this reason that in Lately Group classes have gained popularity. A person begins to contact not only the healer, but also other participants. And this is an additional release of tension and a more relaxed atmosphere. Group classes significantly improve the emotional and physical well-being of patients. And if they are also teenagers, then TDT helps them increase their level of self-esteem and develop a more positive image of their own body. By contacting other group members, young people can awaken new, previously unknown feelings.

Movements

So, we examined the methods of dance therapy in as much detail as possible. Now you can pay attention to the exercises. There are no restrictions or generally accepted standards. After all, one of the goals, as mentioned earlier, is to demonstrate freedom and creativity. The most important thing is that the movements performed by the patient are aimed at realizing his own feelings at a given, specific moment. His task is to express his feelings through dance. And the therapist, observing him, must understand what the patient is trying to convey. This is where psychoanalysis comes into play. It is the doctor’s responsibility to analyze the patient’s behavior as accurately as possible, which will help to understand his problem.

Then the healer, together with the person, begins to expand the limited potential of movements. This way it is possible to liberate the patient and direct him to overcome complexes and psychological problems. This is what dance therapy is aimed at.

Exercise is what the patient must concentrate on during exercise. When a person “reaches out,” it is important for him to feel what exactly he is feeling at that moment. And the doctor, in turn, must help him come to an awareness of his physical sensations. In the last stage the patient usually feels that his soul is one with his body and conveys this through his dancing.

What else is worth knowing?

There are no barriers to TDT. There are no age limits or restrictions on diagnosis. Now there are centers working with adults and children that accept anyone who wants to, help cope with personal problems, anxieties, fears, personal crisis, misunderstanding of oneself and loss of the meaning of life. There is also a spousal TDT.

Special programs have been developed for children that can correct (which includes autism, developmental delay, For adults there is a program that helps cope with compulsive overeating, anorexia and bulimia. With the help of TDT, you can even improve parent-child relationships.

And people who decided to do TDT (or had to do it) claim that there is an effect. The entire theory described is confirmed in practice. And therapy allows you not only to replenish your strength, but also to know yourself, to feel your light, uniqueness and value for this world, which is confirmed by many reviews.

Education

As you can already understand, the activity of a person who masters such an art as dance therapy is very complex and multifaceted. Training of specialists in this profile also takes place in several stages. The program itself was created in 1995. This is so far the only technique that meets the requirements of the European TDT Association. And the program is carried out by a university such as the Institute practical psychology and psychoanalysis. IPPiP is located in Moscow.

All students this direction There are many disciplines to be mastered. The preparation is comprehensive and serious. Leading experts not only from Russia, but also from the USA and Europe are involved in teaching.

During their training, future therapists undergo theoretical seminars on TDT and psychological counseling. The program also includes supervision. Students will also undergo personal psychotherapy and clinical practice.

Educational nuances

It is important to note that this is not a 4 year course, but professional retraining, upon completion of which students are given a corresponding diploma. This document gives specialists the right to lead professional activity in the field of psychotherapy and, of course, SDT.

For admission, you need to fill out an application form and write a meaningful essay (a kind of creative competition). Also, every future student is required to take an introductory course on TDT. This is necessary to identify a person’s abilities for this activity. The program includes 10 hours of basics creative dance and 50 - group TDT “Basic life topics" After completing the course, the person is interviewed and accepted for training.

By the way, today there is also a regional training program, which can be completed at the center of healing art and creativity in Ufa, which cooperates with the previously mentioned university (IPPiP).

Dance therapy is used when working with people who have emotional disorders, communication disorders, and interpersonal interactions.

The use of this method requires quite a lot of preparation from the psychologist, since this type of interaction can awaken strong emotions that are not so easy to find a resolution. Dance moves when combined with physical contact and intense interpersonal interaction, can evoke very deep and strong feelings.

The goal of dance therapy is to develop body awareness, positive body image, communication skills, exploration of feelings and group experiences. In the history of the development of dance therapy, K. Rudestam identifies a number of key events.

The first is related to the need for physical and mental rehabilitation of veterans who returned from the fields of the Second World War. Dance therapy became an auxiliary method of rehabilitation for people with disabilities, many of whom either could not speak at all or were not inclined to have verbal influence applied to them. After the dance class, they noted that they experienced feelings of relief and spiritual harmony.

Another factor contributing to the growing popularity of dance therapy was the human relations training movement that emerged in the 60s, which became the basis for the development of new experimental approaches to working with groups and to the development of the personalities of their participants.

Finally, interest in new dance therapy programs has been fueled by research on nonverbal communication, especially the analysis of communicative functions human body. Dance therapy is used primarily in group work.

The main goal of dance therapy groups is to promote spontaneous movement. Dance therapy encourages freedom and expression of movement, develops mobility and strengthens strength both physically and mentally. The body and mind are considered as one whole.

The main point is formulated as follows: movements reflect personality traits. With any emotional shifts, our well-being changes, both mental and physical, and the nature of our movements changes accordingly.

Dance therapy is aimed at solving the following problems:
1. #Deepening the group members’ awareness of their own body and the possibilities of using it. This not only improves the physical and emotional state of the participants, but also serves as entertainment for many of them. At the beginning of the first lesson, the psychologist observes the participants and evaluates their strengths.
and flaws in each individual's movement repertoire, then determines which movements will work best for each client.
2. Increasing self-esteem among group members by developing a more positive body image. Clients with severe disabilities may have difficulty drawing boundaries between their own body and objects in the environment. In such groups, dance therapy aims to create an adequate body image for participants. Dance allows you to make your body image more attractive, which is directly related to a more positive self-image.
3. Development of social skills through the acquisition of relevant pleasant experiences by participants. Dance movements are relatively safe remedy connections with others while learning socially acceptable behavior. Dance therapy creates conditions for creative interaction and allows one to overcome barriers that arise during verbal communication.
4. Helping group members get in touch with their own feelings by connecting feelings with movements. With the client's creative approach to movements to music, the dance acquires expressiveness, which allows one to release repressed feelings and explore hidden conflicts that can be a source of mental tension. Here the psychodynamic concept of "catharsis" is extended to dance, as its movements release hidden feelings, and this has a direct corrective meaning. Dance movements are not only expressive, but also have the ability to release physical tension, especially if they involve swaying and stretching.
5. Creation of a "magic ring". Group classes involve collaboration between participants, games and experiments with gestures, postures, movements and other non-verbal forms of communication. All this as a whole contributes to the participants’ acquisition of group experience, all components of which at an unconscious level form a closed, stable complex - a “magic ring”

Along with those mentioned, the following tasks are also solved:
increasing physical activity; communicative training and organization of sociotherapeutic communication;
obtaining diagnostic material for analyzing the patient’s behavioral stereotypes and self-knowledge;
liberation of the patient, search for authentic paths of development.

Special dance therapy exercises include free swinging, movements that require composure and control of the body, alternating relaxation and composure associated with the breathing cycle, and moving around the room in a strictly defined manner.

In the first phase, which takes a few minutes, dance therapy sessions are typically used as a warm-up to help each participant prepare their body for performance, much as a musician tunes his instrument before a performance. Warm-up exercises have physical (“warming up”), mental (identification with feelings) and social (establishing contacts) aspects.

One of the options for starting classes involves performing spontaneous free-form movements to a medley of different melodies. There are exercises here that include shaking, stretching, swinging, clapping, shaking, which, starting with the hands, spread to the elbow joints, shoulders, and chest. These exercises are repeated until the whole group is properly warmed up.
At the second stage, a group topic is developed. For example, the theme of “meetings and partings” is being developed. At the level of movements, individual parts of the body can “meet” and “separate.” Hands and elbows may “meet” only to “separate” immediately, or they may “meet” to “fight” or “hug” each other. Interaction between group members can be facilitated by the palms of one meeting the elbows of another, etc.

At the final stage of the lesson, the topic is developed using all the space provided to the group, while the speed of movements and their sequence change. The leader either determines the nature of the participants’ movements or repeats them himself.

For diagnostic analysis of movements and to help group members expand their motor repertoire, the “Effort Form Analysis System” developed by R. Loban is often used.

R. Loban (1960) developed a system for describing the analysis and diagnosis of movements, known as the “Effort System”, or “Effort Form”, based on the application special characters and designed to describe the dynamic and spatial aspects of movements.

In the “System of Efforts”, according to Loban, the dynamics of movements are described by four parameters:
1. Space.
2. Strength.
3. Time.
4. Current.

Each parameter has two poles: space, which can be direct and multifocal; strength - powerful and light; time is fast and smooth; flow - free and limited.

Each movement can be characterized by any of these dimensions, and their combinations make up the eight basic forces involved in performing movements. For example, the impact force is fast, powerful and direct, while the pressure force is smooth, powerful and direct. Using the Loban system, it is possible to analyze movements in a group, which makes it possible to help group members explore and expand their motor repertoire.

The group leader can be: a dance partner, a manager (organizer), a catalyst for the development of the participants’ personalities through movement.

It creates an atmosphere of calm and trust in the group, allowing participants to explore themselves and others, and reflects and develops the spontaneous movements of group members.

The group leader uses structured exercises in a certain way that promote relaxation, proper breathing, changing the body in space and strengthening self-control.
Dance therapy is used to improve physical condition, release emotions, improve interpersonal skills, to gain positive emotions, expansion of self-awareness. The usual duration of a lesson is 40-50 minutes. Classes can be daily, weekly (over several months or years).

For preventive purposes, it is possible to carry out one-time dance marathons. The optimal size of the group is 5-12 people.

The question of the nature of the musical accompaniment of classes is debatable. Some managers prefer standard tape recordings of folk and (or) dance music, others - their own (or their assistants) improvised musical accompaniment. In all cases, it is emphasized that the individual cultural significance of the music offered to the client should not overshadow the significance and pleasure of one’s own physical activity, therefore it is better to use melodies unfamiliar to the group, moderate sound volume and physiologically oriented rhythms that contribute to the formation of trance states of consciousness.

Can be used as an auxiliary or main method of correction in groups of children and adolescents, in sanatorium-resort conditions, in the correction of dysgamy in married couples, for socio-psychological and motor training of people with hearing and visual impairments or in the rehabilitation period (after cardiac surgery, fractures limbs, etc.).

Dance, as such, went beyond the usual boundaries and gained new life in the second half of the 20th century as an element of psychotherapy.

Dance movement therapy (DMT) has become widespread in many parts of this planet, as it uses universal language movements in contact with various psychological concepts.

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Dance movement therapy

Stupnikova Svetlana Alexandrovna,

teacher of choreographic disciplines class

MBOUDO "Fedorovskaya School of Arts"

Fedorovsky urban settlement, Surgut district, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra

Therapy through dance and movement

What is dance to you?

The ability to keep yourself in good physical shape? Good posture? Good mood? New acquaintances? Or maybe finding yourself? Meeting yourself, your body?

Traditionally, a person is restrained in expressing his emotions, and dance helps to relax and show sensuality. With the help of music and movements, a person has the opportunity to feel his body and learn to enjoy it. In dance, a person meets his real self.

Dance, as such, went beyond the usual boundaries and found a new life in the second half of the 20th century as an element of psychotherapy.

Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) has found widespread use in many parts of this planet because it uses a universal language of movement in conjunction with various psychological concepts.

Dance is a unique action, improvisation. In spontaneous movements, a person’s unconscious takes on a visible form. Dance helps us play out the roles we take on in life and begin to relate realistically to the situation. Dance movement therapy helps to feel and understand the cause of symptoms and pain of various kinds.

Even Wilhelm Reich, the founder of body therapy, believed that all emotional experiences that a person does not express for weeks, months, years do not disappear anywhere, but “get stuck” in the muscles in the form of muscle blocks. The body and psyche have a constant mutual influence Each other. Dance movement therapy explores the body's reactions and actions and helps to find that inner integrity that has been lost as a result of the discrepancy between feelings and actions.

Dance improvisation is the restoration of a certain dialogue with yourself, with your body. This is self-exploration. This is a way of expressing emotions, and even memories.

Dance movement therapy is an opportunity to keep the flame of your life burning brightly and illuminating the lives of loved ones.

Dance movement therapy(TDT) - directionpsychotherapy , in which dance And movement used as a process that promotes the emotional and physical integration of the individual

History of development of TDT

The transition of dance into a therapeutic modality is most often associated with the name of an American dance teacher and dancerMarion Chase . She noticed personality changes in her classes in students who were more interested in expressing feelings in dance than in the dance technique itself. And so Chase began to turn more to freedom of movement, thereby discovering the psychological benefits that dance offered. At first she worked with children and teenagers in her own studio and in special schools. Then her work impressed psychologists and psychiatrists, and patients began to be sent to her.

In 1946, Chase was invited to try her methods on hospitalized psychiatric patientsat St. Elizabeth's Hospital (Washington, DC). This date is considered the birthday of dance and movement therapy. Chase has worked with regressive, non-verbal andpsychotic sick. Patients who were considered hopeless were able to engage in group interaction during dance therapy sessions and learned to express their feelings, which then allowed them to move on to more traditional verbal types of psychotherapy. Thanks to this, M. Chase's work received national recognition.

In 1966 it was foundedAmerican Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) , and this date is considered to be the beginning of the development of TDT as an independent discipline.

In Russia, dance movement therapy appeared in the 1990s and initially developed as a type of personal growth groups for adults and creative development for children. At the end of 1995, aDance and Movement Therapy Association , which works with the active support of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA),European Association of TDT And International Association for Creative Expression Therapy (IEATA) .

Description of the method

In their work, dance and movement therapists rely on a number of principles:

1. Body and psyche inseparable and have a constant mutual influence on each other.
2. Dance is a communication that occurs on three levels: with oneself, with other people and with the world.
3. Triad thoughts - feelings - behavior - a single whole and changes in one aspect entail changes in the other two (the principle of integrity).
4. The body is perceived as a process, and not as an object, an object or a subject.
5. Appeal to human creative resources as an inexhaustible source of vitality and creative energy.

Goals

1. Expanding the scope of awareness of one’s own body, its features and capabilities.
2. Developing deep self-trust and increasing self-esteem by developing more positive image bodies.
3. Improving social skills in the safe space of a therapeutic relationship.
4. Integration of internal experience - establishing connections between feelings, thoughts and movement.
5. Creating a deep group experience.

Types of dance movement therapy

There are three groups of approaches in dance therapy:

1. Clinical dance therapy is an adjuvant type of therapy that is used in clinics along with drug treatment and can last several years. It is especially effective for patients with speech disorders and problems in interpersonal communications. Dance therapy has existed in this form since the 1940s.
2. Dance therapy for people with psychological problems (dance psychotherapy) - focused on solving specific client requests. The work can take place both in group and individual forms, and requires quite a lot of time to achieve a sustainable result. Most often, this approach uses the psychodynamic model of consciousness (psychoanalysis) or the approach of analytical psychology by C. G. Jung.
3. Dance and movement therapy, carried out for the purpose of personal development, is a class for people who do not suffer from problems, but want something more in their lives. IN in this case dance becomes a way of recognizing oneself and one’s special individual qualities. It helps you realize hidden stories body, expand your self-image, and find new ways to express yourself and interact with others.

This division into groups is quite arbitrary, but it reflects the requirements for the education of a dance therapist and the real limitations of the use of techniques.

TDT is always based on direct experience, therefore the techniques dance psychotherapy can be used inside different directions psychotherapy:

• emotional response therapy;
• psychoanalytic (deep) therapy;
• script and role-playing therapy;
• existentially - humanistic therapy;
• transpersonal therapy.

Basic principles dance movement therapy.

Improving movements - The best way improvement. Why? There are the following reasons:

1. Nervous system busy mainly with movement.

2. The quality of movement is easily discernible.

3. The experience of movement is the richest.

4. The ability to move is essential for self-esteem.

5. All muscular activity is movement.

6. Movements reflect the state of the nervous system.

7. Movement is the basis of consciousness.

8. Breathing is movement.

9. The basis of habit is movement.

The main task dance-movement therapy - gaining feeling and awareness of one's own “I”. People turn to because they, being alienated from the body, do not feel integrated. In modern culture, we often treat the body as a thing, an object. In dance movement therapy we teach to treat the body as an evolving process. And further the most important difference dance movement therapy from different approaches work with the body is that here the client explores himself, his movements and develops according to own path. This therapy is more interested in how movement feels than what it looks like.
Joan Smallwood, Jungian analyst and dance therapist, student of Mary Whitehouse and Trudy Shoop, highlightedthree components of the therapeutic process:

1. Awareness (of body parts, breathing, feelings, images, non-verbal double messages, when there is dissonance between a person’s verbal and non-verbal message).
2. Increasing the expressiveness of movements (development of flexibility, spontaneity, diversity of movement elements, including factors of time, space and force of movement, defining the boundaries of one’s movement and expanding them).
3. Authentic movement (spontaneous, dance-motor improvisation, coming from an internal sensation, including the experience of experiences and feelings and leading to personality integration). Authentic movement activates those parts of the psyche that C. Jung described as parts of the unconscious, due to which unexpressed emotions that were blocked in the body are revealed.

Dance, psychotherapy and dance movement therapy:

differences and commonality

In the last few years, among many hobbies, there is one that cannot but rejoice - this is a passion for dance. It’s as if permission has come to realize a long-standing dream and a real need of many people - finally you can, you can dance without meaning professional career in art or sports, you can, simply because you want to.
And in general, our time is characterized by an explosion of mass dance, an increase in the role of everyday dances in the structure of mass cult. Dance has become an organic part of our lives. It is leisure and sport, it is entertainment and relaxation.

The combination of words is also increasingly used -dance movement therapy. Used in different options: dance therapy, dance therapy, dance therapy, etc.

Several different “understandings” can be distinguished:

1. medical - Dance therapy as a type of physical education, therapeutic exercises or shaping. Dance professionals also include such techniques as Pilates, Alexander and Feldenkrais techniques, or the still little-known BMC (body-mind centering).
2. New Age - ecstatic dance, meditation dance, etc. 3.psychological- dance techniques in the context of personal development training or individual therapy.

The potential for dance to have a therapeutic effect is very high, but is not the goal. Uniquenessprofessional dance and movement psychotherapyis that it is a conscious, purposeful and structured process.

How dance and dance therapy “treat”

The therapeutic mechanisms themselves in dance and dance therapy naturally overlap, but are not identical, and in some cases they are opposite. Two basic therapeutic mechanisms that exist in dance (and not only in dance) are its ability to be an expression of various human feelings and changes in the physical, motor character of the individual when learning new movements.

Reaction , catharsis through reliving and becoming emotionally aware significant moments of the past is a fairly general (and naturally contested) mechanism of deep and body-oriented therapy. In dance practice, there are two implementations of this mechanism:

Dance as a psycho-emotional release;

Dance as creative (symbolic and holistic) self-expression.

The first method more reflects ordinary and narrowly medical approaches, but certainly adequately describes the processes of standard social functioning of dance (discos, etc.). The second is more related to dance-as-art and its potential to combine physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual processes into a single action.

Psycho-emotional releaseA fairly simple and costly (in terms of deep changes) method, a typical example of which in the therapeutic field is trance dancing. It draws on the orgiastic nature of dance. Self-expression - the field of expressive arts is an extensive and quite complex process that requires “entering” the material and mastering it. This could be working with a specific dance image that has a special emotional significance for the dancer.

Another basic mechanism is retraining . If violations are caused by problems and missed (dissociated) stages of development in the past or arrested development in the present, then retraining is an adequate mechanism for restoring the continuity and integrity of development. It can appear as:

a) rebuilding and transformation of dysfunctional patterns (working with posture, focus of attention in movement, etc.);

b) gaining new experience(for example, mastering new qualities of movement). Naturally, this division is conditional, and in the real process the mechanisms overlap and support each other. However, it makes sense to know, identify and use these mechanisms in a real process - creative, educational or therapeutic.

It should also be taken into account that specific dance movements and styles present a certain set of qualities that are characteristic of them. Therefore, “not all dances are equally useful,” rather, they are “useful” in different ways. And each direction has its own " back side" - what exactly this dance direction cannot teach, as well as a set of qualities that must be “rejected” in order for the dance to correspond to the style.

Many dance therapists combine a therapeutic approach and a specific dance direction (for example, flamenco or belly dance), but much more often in TDT the style of modern or contemporary dance is used, since these are the directions that are associated with a personal, authorial, deeply individual statement in dance.

Dance and Dance Therapy: Boundaries

The fundamental difference between therapy and most dance styles lies in the absence of a predetermined result - an image, a style, a vocabulary of movement. So, even in dance improvisation, the laws of composition (or their violation) are important, but in the context of a dance therapy session we may not pay attention to this at all. For dance therapy, it is more important WHAT a person feels when he moves. HOW it looks has, rather, diagnostic value.

The second difference is the presence of a dance therapist, i.e. a person who has a special (not purely dance, and not only psychotherapeutic) education. On modern level development, even the presence of choreographic experience and psychological education can only be a starting point in becoming a dance therapist. One of the illusions is that dance therapy is an “easy” form psychological work. In fact, this is a superficial view that can only lead to superficial results and profanation.

Some knowledge of psychology and dance, in best case scenario, can lead to what is called “creative dance”, i.e. creative dance. It is a process of creative development through dance and movement and is not directly related to the teaching of any dance skills. Creative dance can be part of dance therapy, but the context of dance therapy is broader.

The third difference is the relationship between verbal and dance modality. Dance therapy is always associated with establishing and deepening connections in the “body-mind” system and, therefore, addresses different languages: both to the “languages” of the body, sensations, feelings, and to verbal and symbolic languages. In principle, the relationship between these two modalities may be different, but the “therapeutic” nature of the process largely depends on the creation of an adequate context, the possibility of comprehension and integration of experience.

The very context of dance therapy, its positioning, is another difference. In other words, people can come to dance classes with not very conscious “therapeutic” needs and satisfy them, but these problems are sometimes easier to solve directly, through dance therapy. It is possible that this is a discrepancy between unconscious goals and technical dance classes will lead to the opposite effect - rejection of the dance itself; as often happens in childhood, when the natural need for movement is too structured, adjusted to alien standards, when dance becomes only a technique and its ability to deal with the integrity and development of the integrity of the human being is forgotten. And when this is forgotten, dance remains an unfulfilled and even frightening, pipe dream.

Dance therapy and psychotherapy: position

Exist different views about the place of dance and movement therapy in the rich and diverse world modern psychotherapy. Some consider it part of art therapy, understanding “art” as art in the broad sense of the word. But then we have terms to designate psychodrama, music therapy, dance therapy, but there is no special term left to designate “art therapy” itself, where “art” is fine art.

Dance therapy is stilla separate direction, requiring specific training and education, although in the real therapeutic process the techniques of dance therapy, the bodily approach and any areas of expressive art therapy are perfectly combined and complement each other. One of modern trends The development of psychotherapy is precisely the development of a multimodal approach. And the boundaries that I spoke about need to be outlined only so that the unity of these approaches does not become an indiscriminate mixture.

Dance therapy techniques can be used within different areas of psychotherapy, since they are not an expression of a specific view of the nature of human consciousness, but rather create the opportunity to access and integrate various structures and layers of the body-mind system.

“So what kind of dance do I need to do for it to be therapy?” - they asked me on one talk show. The formulation of the question itself is interesting. It reflects a typical “mythology” (according to R. Barth) modern society when therapy is a procedure of taking the “right pill”. This “mythology” cannot deal with the real process of dance - living, ambiguous, unfolding in time. A process in which subject and object, author and work, process and result, living and life are One. A process in which the emphasis moves from results and goals toquality of stayprecisely this moment, and, therefore, the whole life, which consists of “these moments.”