Dance Movement Therapy - S / Spring 2024

   I   Unit: The Language of Movement Theme: Watching & Responding   Introduction The Power of Movement is a film that focuses on the use of dance therapy to allow individuals to reach into themselves and also to facilitate interaction among people. It was produced in 1982 by film-maker Norris Brock and dance/movement therapists Diane Duggan and Judith Bunney.   II Check In III Learning Objectives Understand the diversity of populations dance/movement therapy can help to heal Explain the different approaches of the dance/movement therapists featured in the film Gain an awareness of the role of the dance/movement therapists Experience a hypothetical scenario in which dance/movement therapy can be used IV Main Lesson  Film The Power of Movement by Norris Brock (2:07 -  30:15)     Featured Dance/Movement Therapists Sharon Chaiklin Joan Chodorow Jane Downes Barbara Stain Susan Sandel V A Note to Remember The main role of dance/movement the...

I   Unit: The Therapeutic Encounter Theme: Joining, Attunement & Kinesthetic Empathy Introduction   Within the context of Dance/Movement Therapy, joining someone is to become linked or connected to that person in movement. On the other hand, attunement is the reactiveness we have to another person . It is the process by which we form relationships. Dr. Dan Siegel, clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and executive director of the Mindsight Institute , explains, "When we attune with others we allow our own internal state to shift, to come to resonate with the inner world of another. Finally, kinesthetic empathy, a key interdisciplinary concept in our understanding of social interaction across creative and cultural practices, describes the ability to experience empathy merely by observing the movements of another human being. II Check In III   Learning Objectives    Understand the meaning of joining Explain the importance of ...

    I    Check In   II   Introduction   Anna Halprin conceived movement ritual as a series of structured movements that helped to release tension, expand range of movement , and spark creative expression. In today's class we will explore movements that will help us create a community ritual. Our ritual will be based on movement metaphors, the creation of a group myth and the subsequent consolidation of our ritual structure (Beginning, Middle and Closing).   III   Learning Objectives   Understand the different ways of looking at dance Explain the meaning of personalized self-body as metaphor for the big collective body Gain an awareness of the concept of group myth  Experience the creation of a movement ritual   IV   Main Lesson   1   Moving Toward Life: Five Decades of Transformational Dance. Page 245 The theater world is more inclusive than dance in Western culture, particularly when it comes to using mo...

I Check in --------------- II   Unit: The Circle   Theme: Scoring     Introduction   As an alternative to set choreography, Halprin has developed unique methods of dance scoring. Her dance scores communicate the essential spatial, temporal, and physical instructions for each performance work. These two-dimensional renderings of her movement ideas and choreographic structures are designed in ways that inspire users to apply their own creative sensibilities to embodying and carrying out their instructions. Halprin’s dance scores are simultaneously structured and fluid. They exist as records of Halprin’s creative activity and serve as the impetus for new productions.   ---------------- III   Learning Objectives   Understand the concept of dance-ritual Explain how dance can be a healing resource Gain an awareness if the importance of dance for community healing Experience planned  movement, or score , as as a tool to lead community healin...

  I Check in --------------- II   Unit: The Circle   Theme: The Circle, the Pulsation, the Group, the Body   Introduction   The circle is a frame or formation that has contained dance since ancient times. For this reason is has also being the shape used to provide dance medicine for our early human communities. To this day, the circle provides an opportunity for a type of communal embodied integration that is emotionally and psychologically healing. Dance rituals, for instance, which as stated by Halprin (2015) are dances with a purpose, have traditionally been created to affect the world. Thus, the circle, the procession, the conga, and other forms of dance rituals, have given shape to communal healing gatherings. Dance movement therapists have adopted the circle as a viable way of providing a frame for group therapy.     ---------------- III   Learning Objectives   Understand how the Cartesian model affects the body-mind connec...