Introduction

Dance therapy is a type of therapy that uses movement to help individuals achieve emotional, cognitive, physical, and social integration. Studies have shown benefits for physical and mental health through stress reduction, muscular strength, and mood management. 

Mindfulness involves paying attention to what is going on inside and outside us as it is happening. As we know, it's easy to get caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts control us. Practising mindfulness can help us be aware of our thoughts and feelings as we experience them from moment to moment.

In general, dance therapy and mindfulness promote self-awareness and provide a safe space for expressing feelings through non-verbal movement.

Historical background

Origins of dance therapy

Dance therapy has been recognised since the 1940s. However, it wasn’t until the 1970s and 1980s that therapists officially became more interested in how dance and movement could be used for psychotherapy.

Eventually, this led to when dance therapy was pioneered by therapists who included observation, interpretation, and the manipulation of dance elements in their practice.¹

Development of mindfulness practices

Mindfulness originated in Buddhist traditions that practise awareness of our thoughts and feelings to be non-judgmental, curious, friendly, and compassionate. Mindfulness practices involve breathing, sitting, and walking. Recently, it has become popular in healthcare, educational and workplace settings.²

The intersection of dance therapy and mindfulness 

Over time, the dance movement grew from simply being a form of entertainment, to an alternative way of self-expression through incorporating emotions into dance. Dance therapy pioneers Marian Chace, Mary Whitehouse, and Trudy Schoop formed the foundation of dance therapy through the addition of observation, interpretation, and manipulation of dance elements into the practice. Since then, further research on non-verbal behaviour and its role in mental health issues has influenced the therapeutic practice.^1,2

Theoretical framework

Dance therapy is based on the rationale that your body postures and movements are linked with your emotions. This concept suggests that the body can respond to our emotional experiences and feelings. Therefore, changes in body postures and movement may not always be a consequence of the autonomic system.³

Dance therapy 

In dance therapy, Laban and dance/movement theory provide a framework to help us understand how to use the body to express emotion through movement.³

Laban movement analysis (LMA)

LMA originates from Rudolf Laban, a choreographer and dance theorist from Austria-Hungary, who pioneered modern dance. LMA, although mostly used by performers (actors and dancers), is a means of describing and assessing the different ways we move our bodies. It helps us understand how we express our emotional choices through body movement.³

Dance/movement therapy (DMT) principles

DMT involves the therapeutic use of dance movement to express the emotional, cognitive, physical, and spiritual aspects of the individual. DMT sessions often begin with the therapist observing and assessing the clients, followed by warm-ups, therapy interventions, verbal processing, and warm-down phases focused on closing the session. Sessions can be structured or non-directive and are performed individually or in groups. 

Although each dance therapist will have their own style, all certified dance therapists adhere to these theoretical principles:

1. The body and the mind are connected, so a change in one affects the other
2. Therapeutic relationships can be communicated through non-verbal means
3. Movement can represent the ability to tolerate the unknown
4. Movement can express aspects of the personality
5. Movement improvisation can bring about new ways of being⁴

Mindfulness 

Mindfulness involves being present in the now in a non-judgmental way. It requires paying attention to the internal (body) and external (environment) things that are happening whilst not analysing or trying to change your current situation. 

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)

MBSR consists of various exercises by listening to audio recordings and following the instructions. MBSR helps to explore the difficulties that you’re experiencing by teaching you the skills to help fight off negative thoughts practically and effectively.

These exercises are taken, in part, from traditional meditation practices but aren’t religious in nature. People with religious backgrounds can use a faith-based practice (religious meditation) with MBSR if they prefer. 

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)

MBCT is a modified form of cognitive therapy that includes mindfulness practices of the present moment. It consists of exercises that include awareness, meditation, and breathing. Using these tools, the therapist teaches a client to be in the present and break away from negative thought patterns that may contribute to their low mood and maladaptive behaviours.

Integration of theories

Mindfulness impacts the way our body controls itself and manages the physical symptoms that we experience in our daily lives. Research suggests that our experiences and unconscious desires can influence our behaviour and actions. Taking this into account, dance therapy helps you to understand and express yourself better. It teaches you to listen to your mind and express your thoughts through body movement. 

Conventional therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) suggest that our thoughts, emotions, body sensations, and behaviour are all connected. Dance therapy follows the same principles as CBT but focuses specifically on providing a means for people to express themselves through dance. It allows the individual to communicate their conscious and unconscious feelings through movement and is centred around physical expression instead of words.⁵

Benefits of dance therapy and mindfulness

Physical health

Mindfulness-based dance therapy (MBDT) uses nine therapeutic mechanisms:

• A safe environment
• Mindfulness skills
• Body awareness
• Relaxing
• Distancing and at the same time staying in discomfort
• Self-regulation
• Meaning-making (i.e., making connections and understanding the cause-effect relationship of how your symptoms may have developed)
• Acceptance and integration
• A creative process

Studies have shown a reduction in pain in people using dance therapy.⁶

Mental health

Studies reviewing the use of dance movements (e.g., tango, Latin dance, and rumba) have also shown that regardless of the genre of music used in dance therapy, adults who participated showed improvement in their symptoms. This included disorders such as depression, anxiety, and stress.⁷

Mind-body connection

MBDT has also been found to improve psychological well-being. It is a creative approach to therapeutic meditation that practises non-judgment, loving-kindness, and present-centred awareness. These skills help improve your emotional and physical well-being, increase acceptance of positive changes to yourself, and increase the application of mindfulness techniques into your daily life.⁸

Techniques and practices

Dance therapy techniques

Improvisation

This involves the use of psychological and emotional content that can provoke the breaking down of the individual’s mindfulness and awareness into small, manageable experiences specific to the person’s needs, environment, and treatment goals. It invites you to freely express whatever words or ideas come to mind and coherence of thought is never required through movement.⁹

Choreography-based sessions

A nonverbal process that occurs in rhythm, space, and effort and is used for sharing emotions. It is handy for people who have empathy deficits such as people with autism spectrum disorder. Dance therapists use this technique by synchronising their movements with their clients which helps reduce clients’ feelings of isolation.

During a session, the dance therapist may choose to focus on specific emotions triggered by the client which enables them to focus on the client’s experience of the real world as it is happening.⁹

Mindfulness practices

Breath awareness

This involves sitting quietly to focus on your breathing, thoughts, body and environment. It helps to bring your attention back to the present moment if your mind starts to wander.⁹

Body scan meditation

This involves moving your attention slowly from the top of your head to the tip of your toes. This helps you focus on feelings of warmth, tension, tingling, or relaxation in different parts of your body.⁹

Combined approaches

Mindful movement in dance therapy

Mindfulness-based dance therapy helps patients communicate in ways not achievable with conventional therapy. It is useful for people with challenges in verbal communication, as it gives them an alternative outlet to express their ideas and emotions through dance.⁹

Summary

Dance therapy uses movement as a form of psychotherapy to facilitate the integration of the mind, body, and emotions. It has been shown to improve a person’s physical health by making them more flexible, and stronger, and improving pain symptoms.

Mindfulness helps us become more aware of our maladaptive thoughts and feelings so that we can notice when these thoughts are taking over. It helps us realise that these thoughts do not have to control us and can help us deal with these events more practically. Dance therapy and mindfulness are effective in improving many psychosocial conditions, including depression and anxiety as well as physical health such as chronic pain.