Mechanisms for Affect Communication from Dance: A Mixed Methods Study

Dance is a multifaceted creative act that has been used to communicate emotions throughout human evolution. Despite this history, there has been no empirical exploration of components of dance that allow it to communicate emotion. We address this with a mixed methods study in which a quantitative study with dance viewers builds upon qualitative findings with dance artists. Qualitative analysis revealed proposed components of dance responsible for emotion communication are narrative content, social interaction, emotion portrayal intent, and textural quality of movement. These elements were then manipulated using dance video stimuli to quantitatively test viewers' emotion perception accuracy. Results revealed emotion portrayal intent (i.e., expression intent in dance creation) is an important factor for viewers to accurately perceive emotion, regardless of narrative content. While prior studies have focused on the perceiver's role in emotion perception from dance, this is the first study to demonstrate emotions are perceived from dance based on intent during dance creation. Findings highlight the nuanced structure of emotion communication in dance, for which we pose a theoretical framework. Together, dance holds possibilities for studying distinct mechanisms for creative communication that may be important for the study of generalized affect communication outside of creative arts contexts.     

Dance becomes therapeutic in the mid to late 20th century

The convergence of dance art and therapeutic culture engendered the development of dance-movement therapy in the mid to late 20th century internationally. This article traces the sociopolitical, institutional, and aesthetic influences that coalesced in this process by contrasting histories of dance-movement therapy in Hungary and in the United States. The professionalization dance-movement therapy, through which it established its own theory, practice, and training institutions, occurred first in the United States in the late 1940s. Modern dancers in the United States began to conceptualize their activity as therapeutic, and the dancer as a (secular) healer, a therapist. The influx of therapeutic concepts into the field of dance is viewed as an example of therapeutic discourse permeating various areas of life in the 20th century. The Hungarian case provides a contrasting history of therapeutic culture, one that deviates from the predominant view of the phenomenon as a product of the global spread of Western modernization and the growth of free-market capitalism. Hungarian movement and dance therapy indeed developed independently from its American predecessor. Its history is intimately tied to the sociopolitical context of state-socialist period, particularly to the institutionalization of psychotherapy in public hospitals, and to the adaptation of Western group psychotherapies within the informal setting of the “second public sphere.” The legacy of Michael Balint and the British object-relations school provided its theoretical framework. Its methodology was rooted in postmodern dance. The methodological differences between American dance-movement therapy and the Hungarian method reflects the shift in dance aesthetics that occurred internationally between 1940 and 1980s.     

The Dance: Essence of Embodiment

An analysis of movement, and particularly of dance,helps us to see in an extraordinarily effective way the meaningof embodiment. This paper then looks through the eyes ofdance theorists and at philosophers who consider dance andmovement and their meaning of embodiment. A study of movementand dance encompasses the fullest meaning of embodiment: that theembodied way of being-in-the-world is also an embedded way ofbeing in a world of others. Dance has critically importantsocial ramifications. In our own and other cultures, dance playsan important role in healing and in health enhancement.     

Nietzsche on Rock and Stone: The Dead World,Dance and Flight

Abstract

Although images of rock and stone play a significant role in Nietzsche’s thinking, from his earliest writings to his ideas in Thus Spoke Zarathustra about will to power and eternal return, this stratum of his imagery has not been much discussed. Initially rocks come across as ‘witnesses of prehistory that are eager to acquire language’, as well as border markers of, and means of entry to, the ‘dead world’, or inanimate realm. Later, stone becomes an image of the raw material that we have to work if we want to make something of our lives by fashioning them, which we can do with all strata of the soul except the deepest. At that level granite signifies what is unalterable, being the sedimentation of a very long past, and so rock comes to be associated with the past that is recalcitrant in the face of will. But when will can will as will to power, stone takes part in the play that is the consummate affirmation of life. It also has to be a dance, a dance on the force-field of will to power, overcoming for the moment the Spirit of Heaviness by lifting lightly from the earth. And finally flight: when ‘the boundary stones themselves fly into the air’, with a few of us shifting along with them.     

Benefits of recreational dance and behavior analysis for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders: A literature review

Dance can be an entertaining experience that offers multiple benefits for those who participate. Unlike typically developing populations, studies examining benefits of recreational dance for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders are limited. In this review, we conducted a literature search, where “dance” was cross‐listed with all neurodevelopmental disorders across five databases, yielding 19 articles. Twelve studies involved children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders aged 3–19 years, two studies included both adolescents and adults aged 14–22 years, and five studies included adults aged 20–65 years. Given the effectiveness of applied behavior analysis in enhancing skill development, it is encouraging that eight studies explicitly identified behavioral components. Results suggest potential benefits of recreational dance across studies using self‐report and objective measures, but limited research with sound methodology exists. There is a need for controlled research with measurable outcomes to evaluate programs tailored to these populations to improve core challenges and secondary outcomes such as quality of life.     

先齐乐舞蠡测

世上任何一种文化的形成,一般都有其承继性与融合性特点。作为齐文化重要组成部分的齐国乐舞当然也不例外,它也是在齐文化的形成过程中,承继了东夷乐舞的成就,融合了尧、舜、禹三代之乐而形成的。东夷族是个喜歌好舞的民族,他们的歌舞活动,不仅造就了众多乐歌和乐舞,而且催生出了众多乐器,同时还出现了乐教、乐论和礼乐。为此作出重要贡献的有太3伏羲氏、少3金天氏、葛天氏、颛顼高阳氏、帝喾高辛氏、大舜有虞氏、东莱部落和夷夏部族联盟,就是他们为齐国乐舞打下了坚实的基础。     

Perceived Benefits and Challenges of a Multiethnic-Racial Identity: Insight From Adults With Mixed Heritage

The purpose of this inquiry was to explore the lived experiences of multiethnic-racial individuals (i.e., individuals with parents from different ethnic-racial groups). In-depth interviews were conducted with 29 adults from the United States with mixed ethnic-racial backgrounds ranging in age from 18 to 52 (female n = 20, male n = 9). We identified a number of themes related to perceived benefits (e.g., pluralistic world views, stronger sense of self) and challenges (e.g., identity tensions, communal concerns) of having a mixed heritage. Findings are discussed in terms of four considerations for ethnic-racial identity of individuals with mixed ethnic-racial backgrounds: emphasizing constellations of experiences, life-span and developmental considerations of identity, (mixed) ethnic-racial identity as constituted in interactions, and the potential promise of pluralistic world views.     

The Creative Space and a Place for Dance

How does a dancer become a world renowned leader of an experimental creative dance space? The influences leading to the development of the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company are many and include historical events, family background, mentors, and private intangible states of being. Creative collaboration, a prized modus operandi, honors working with multidiscipline artists. The creative process, with all its ambiguities and conundrums, is perceived as ever-evolving. The physical creative space reflects the times we live in as well as the growth and development of the artist.     

Her Body Speaks: The Experience of Dance Therapy for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

This qualitative, phenomenological study explores the experiences of dance therapy for 5 women who had been sexually abused as children. Using in‐depth, largely unstructured interviews, the women reflect on their dance therapy experiences and on their perceptions of the role of these experiences in their psychological healing. Analysis of these data revealed 6 common themes related to the women's sense of spontaneity, permission to play, struggle, freedom, intimate connection, and bodily reconnection. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the therapeutic nature of dance therapy and how this therapeutic modality facilitates change and healing in clients' lives.     

Heroes on the Hill: A qualitative study of the psychosocial benefits of an intercultural arts programme for youth in Northern Ireland

The current study investigates the psychosocial benefits of a cross‐community, intercultural dance programme for youth in Northern Ireland. Psychological theories, including contact theory and the ecology of childhood development, underpin the study, and results are discussed in relation to the programme's aims. The present study used qualitative, inductive methods; data consisted of interviews before and after the programme with facilitators (n = 2) and 10 (n = 10) programme participants (11–15 years old) of diverse races and nationalities. Latent themes were identified using thematic analysis. Findings reveal that participants have complex senses of identity. Worryingly, they also reported many instances of bullying, relating both to themselves and others. Results reveal three main psychosocial benefits of the programme, all of which promote positive mental health in adolescents. The benefits are increased self‐confidence, the formation of new cross‐community friendships, and improved intercultural awareness and pride. It is argued that the programme is an exemplar of how the arts can promote peace as well as resilience in the face of adversity. Recommendations for future research are included.     

Dance and psychotherapy--possibilities and limits

From a starting point of therapeutic and prophylactic components identifiable in the dance, the authors regard the dance as deserving of greater attention than was hitherto the case in programs of physiotherapy, psychotherapy, and sociotherapy. From the existing essays at a therapy basing on body and motion, they infer basic common points, and to promote discussion, they state their attitudes in respect of the potential and rank of the dance in the concept of complex multimodal psychotherapy.     

Ancestral Voices, Spirits, and Magic: Dance a New Dance in the Family Therapy Room

Despite important moves toward reconciliation and dreams of a rainbow nation, the culture of violence impacts upon family and community life. This article is written within this context and more specifically within the writer's personal reflections on her practice of working as a family therapist in one of South Africa's largest black townships, Mdantsane. It challenges the relevance of first world theory and practice of family therapy in the third world context but is written in the first person and thus in the form of a reflective practitioner. The usefulness of the Milan approach is questioned and a move toward a social constructionist approach is favoured. The metaphor of dance and music is used to capture the dynamic interaction between client and therapist in the search for a relevant and respectful way of working with families in the South African context.     

舞动治疗：一种自下而上的精神分裂症干预探索

皮层-基底节-丘脑网络与脑岛网络属于感觉运动相关网络, 这两个网络的改变可能是导致精神分裂症的重要原因。目前主流研究与临床干预聚焦于患者的高级脑区异常, 对感觉运动系统的关注不足。对健康个体的研究发现舞蹈训练对感觉运动相关脑网络具有显著提升作用, 并自下而上地促进高级功能。以上研究提示舞蹈训练可能是干预精神分裂症、改善患者认知功能的新途径。本研究拟借助多模态磁共振成像技术, 以精神分裂症感觉运动相关网络为着力点, 通过分析精神分裂症患者在舞蹈训练前后的脑影像、临床症状及认知行为的改变, 揭示舞蹈训练临床干预的神经机制。     

Transforming Spirituality in Artistic Leisure: How the Spiritual Meaning of Belly Dance Changes Over Time

Studies show that different dimensions of religiosity change throughout the life course. Yet, we have little information about how spirituality that some people experience outside of formal religious organizations may change. The purpose of this study is to examine how spirituality associated with artistic leisure may emerge or decline over time. Drawing from two waves of semistructured qualitative interviews conducted five years apart, I examine how the spirituality dancers associate with belly dance changes over time and factors associated with those transformations. Rather than emerging, findings show that whether dancers instill belly dance with spirituality remains stable or decreases. Furthermore, much of the decrease in the spiritual meaning that dancers link to belly dance can be understood in the context of their changing involvement in the dance, different meanings they attach to belly dance, revisiting their personal beliefs about spirituality, and expanding their spiritual outlets.     

Improv and the Angel: Disability Dance,Embodied Ethics,and Jewish Biblical Narrative

Disability dance lays claim to the provocative possibilities of the disabled body, raising profound questions about the politics of art, affect, and embodiment. For scholars of religion, disability dance is a powerful—and as yet unrecognized—site for probing the sacrality and ethics enacted in disability culture. This article brings the biblical tale of Jacob and the angel into conversation with a contemporary performance, “The Way You Look (at me) Tonight,” an intimate duet between choreographer and performer Jess Curtis and Clare Cunningham, an internationally acclaimed dancer who explores the artistry of lived disability experience. Using dance as a hermeneutic invitation to draw out ethical insights into risk, consent, and intimacy, I offer a disability‐sensitive reading of Genesis 32—reading the angel as a body whose presence attests to the brilliant shock of disability difference and probing the psychic and somatic transformation that unfolds when Jacob comes into kinesthetic contact with disability and the sacred.     

MA and Togetherness (Ittaikan) in the Narratives of Dancers and Spectators: Sharing an Uncertain Space

The Japanese concept/character MA (間), commonly translated as “gap, interval, or the in between,” partakes in many forms of Japanese arts and daily-life practices. In this article, we report the results of a qualitative research on the meaning or experience of MA and its relation with the feeling of togetherness in the context of contemporary dance improvisation. We interviewed performers and spectators (all professional dancers) while they watched the videotaped and reduced stick-figure versions of short dance improvisations created in a laboratory installed with motion-capture sensors. Based on the individual narratives, and inspired by Japanese and occidental aesthetic writings, we elaborate a specific understanding of MA as attending to the event's preacceleration, and how this experience causally relates to the feeling of togetherness (一体感, ittaikan). We propose that MA, understood not extensionally (as an empty space or a silent gap), but intentionally/internally as a certain quality of attention or perceptual mode, is fertile ground for serendipity. MA as an interpersonal ethical construct suggests a transsubjective difference as a foundation for a collective coming together.     

Self and Reminiscence of Place: A Conceptual Study

This conceptual study looks at reminiscence of past places and selfhood for older people, especially people with dementia, living in long-term care facilities. Although the therapeutic potential of reminiscence, as well as the importance of places in one's life have been recognized, the potential benefits of place-based reminiscence remains untapped. This study critically reviews the existing literature in related substantive areas, synthesizes emergent major themes, and proposes a conceptual framework in approaching the relevant concepts. It is suggested that reminiscence of events and aspects associated with significant places from the past can offer a potentially therapeutic process in holding onto one's life experiences, and in turn present opportunities for preserving one's sense of self-identity.     

舞动治疗对高校辅导员职业倦怠的干预研究

旨在探讨舞动治疗对于辅导员职业倦怠干预的效果,为辅导员缓解职业倦怠提供方法和依据。采用简单随机抽样方法,从三所高校中抽取60名辅导员进行研究,分为两组,通过舞动治疗与普通系列讲座两种方式,并前后对照探讨舞动治疗对高校辅导员职业倦怠的影响。研究采用前后测对照组实验组实验法,使用问卷对60名辅导员进行调查研究。问卷共包括两部分,分别为一般自我效能感量表（GSES）和Maslach职业倦怠量表（MBI-GS）。结果显示舞动治疗后职业倦怠的情绪耗竭和玩世不恭维度得分显著下降,成就感得分显著上升,自我效能感显著提升;系列讲座后职业倦怠的玩世不恭和成就感得分没有变化,情绪耗竭得分明显增加,自我效能感没有改善。由此可以看出舞动治疗可以改善高校辅导员的职业倦怠状况。     

广场舞组织氛围和老年人主观幸福感的关系:组织认同和自尊的中介作用

以366名参加广场舞活动的老年人为研究对象,探讨广场舞组织氛围对老年人主观幸福感的影响及其作用机制。结果表明：广场舞组织氛围能通过组织认同和自尊的中介作用对主观幸福感产生影响,且该中介作用包含了两条路径——自尊的单独中介作用以及组织认同—自尊的链式中介作用。因此可以通过改善广场舞组织氛围增强老年人主观幸福感,以促进老年人成功老化、积极老化、健康老化。     

Dancing is belonging! How social networks mediate the effect of a dance intervention on students' sense of belonging to their classroom

What does it take to feel you belong? Using a sample of 606 students in 30 classrooms, with 15 classrooms participating in a school‐based dance intervention, we examined intrapsychic and extrapsychic sources of social belonging using social network analysis. Whereas outdegree (the number of outgoing liking nominations to classmates) served as a proxy variable for students' active acceptance of others, indegree (the number of ingoing liking nominations from other peers) served as a proxy variable for the passive acceptance by others. Both measures should account for changes in students' sense of belonging to their classroom. Multilevel longitudinal mediation analyses supported our predictions—increased belonging related to increasing acceptance by others and of others, which were experienced by students participating in the dance intervention for a year (vs. a non‐treated control group). We discuss our findings within the current debate on the use of distal variables to explain intrapsychic constructs.