Significant History

Dance is the most fundamental of the arts, involving direct expression through the body. http://www.nccata.org/dance_therapy.htm Dance is a wonderful activity that anyone can do. Even if someone has two left feet, there is a dance they can do. There are too many types of dancing for someone not to find the one they can do. Dancing takes practice and dedication. There are times is does not require practice but it does take persistence. One needs to have patients when they are not naturally born with the talent to move gracefully to music. Some people have never notice or tried dancing before until it was forced upon them. There is something called dance therapy.

It is also considered dance/movement therapy. Dance as therapy was discovered in the 1940s; by psychiatrists in Washington, D.C., found that their patients were deriving benefits from attending Chace's unique dance classes. Today, in addition to those with severe emotional disorders, people of all ages and varying conditions receive dance/movement therapy. Some people who do these are individuals with eating disorders, adult survivors of violence, sexually and physically abused children, dysfunctional families, the homeless, autistic children, the frail elderly, and substance abusers. http://www.edreferral.com/movement_therapy.htm This therapy is to help people get through issues by occupying their mind, body, and spirit.

Now specialization is using dance/movement therapy in disease prevention and health promotion programs and with those who have chronic medical conditions. Many innovative programs provide dance/movement therapy for people with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, chronic pain, or breast cancer.

Dance is being taken for granted. It can do so many things to prevent health issues. And if one gets health complications they can also receive dance/movement therapy as a treatment to get back to health. I did not know about dance therapy, but this makes me encourage dancing more too all groups and ages to participate in. This makes me want to continue dancing and try as many kinds as I possible can for my duration on the earth.