Basically this negative attitude with regard to dance continued until the 20th century when Isadora Duncan appeared on the stage barefoot and wearing diaphanous Greek- style robes. This was the moment Modern Dance was born.
The connection between Mind, Body and Spirit and the healing effects of dance have long been acknowledged. Carl Jung developed a technique with his patients which he called "active imagination" which gave the patient a means of expressing subconscious thoughts. This understanding of the emotions helped pave the way for dance movement therapy. Jung had used dance with his patients both as a means of personal expression and to "dance out their dreams".
A history of dance movement therapy would be incomplete without mention of the first generation of modern dancers.There was a desire amongst the early modern dancers to create a feeling of community and shared emotion. Dancers such as Isadora Duncan, Ruth St.Dennis, Dorothy Humphrey, Ted Shawn and Mary Wigman were followed by the second generation of modern dancers such as Martha Graham and Hanya Holm.They all believed that movement and rhythm can express deep emotions. This belief in the power of the emotions together with psychiatry was to lead to the birth of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT)
The second generation of modern dancers included Marian Chace, Mary Whitehouse and Trudi Schoop who would independently use key elements of modern dance and pioneer the use of dance and movement with hospital patients and groups of people who had Special Needs. By doing so they created Dance Movement Therapy.
Any history of dance movement therapy has to accord Marian Chace a premier position.Marian Chace when teaching dance noticed that some of her students were first and foremost interested in expressing their emotions and were less interestd in technique.She encouraged this form of self-expression in her students who reported feelings of increased well-being as a result of their sessions with her. Word reached psychistrists at a nearby hospital and in 1942 they invited Marian Chace to work with them and their patients in the field of dance and excercise. Her patients were non-verbal and she worked with them in a way which let them know that she accepted them unconditionally. Chace's methods attracted others and by the 1950s dance movement therapy was taken seriously at the hospital.
Much of Marian Chace's dance movement therapy work was paralled by Trudi Schoop. Trudi was born in Zurich, Switzerland and was a self-taught dancer and mime. She arrived in the U.S in 1934. Post 1947 Schoop focussed on using dance as a therapy for patients with schizophrenia. Her theories were examined by neuropsychiatric specialists and she became a therapist at Camaeillo State Mental Hospital.
Mary Whitehouse having undergone jungian psychotherapy began to make connections between the authentic, natural movement expressions of her students and the flow of symbolic material they shared with her at the end of a class.People who had no desire to dance professionally continued to take classes because their work with her excercised a profound effect on their lives.
In a history of dance movement therapy mention must also be made of Liljan Espenak who incorporated Alderian psychotherapy as part of her approach to helping patients with Learning Difficulties as well as those with Physical Special Needs.
Another great influence in dance movement therapy in both America and Britain was Rudolf Laban a dancer and choreographer whose system of observation and notation of dance and movement called "effort-shape" allows analysis as to how an individual dancer moves.
In 1965 the American Dance Therapy Association was founded with Marian Chace as its first President.
A history of Dance Movement Therapy in Britain is less clearly documented than in the United States. Dance movement therapy in this part of the world originates from a base in dance education (often with children in state schools) as well as other related fields.A number of theoretical influences and principles reveal the eclectic approach to dance movement therapy in that country.
Rudolf Steiner's therapeutic Eurythmy was one such influence. His method has a deeply philosophical and spiritual basis.There is a repetoire of core movements which connect to the sounds and rhythms of language, music and to the emotions such as joy, sorrow etc. This basic repetoire can be used to create free artistic expression. The use of colour, music and written sources such as poetry, and stories are important though pieces are sometimes performed in silence.The early proliferation of dance movement systems had by the 1930's given way to the modern dance therapy movement developed on principles established by Rudolf Laban The importance of Rudolf Laban in the history of dance movement therapy in England cannot be over-emphasised.
In the history of Dance Movement therapy both in England and abroad, Margaret Morris made a unique contribution to the development and teaching of dance movement therapy At the age of twelve in 1903 this child began to compose her own dances while at the same time reacting against the restrictions of classical ballet.At this young age this extraordinary child began creating her own excercises.
Later Margaret Morris realized that education and clear explanations were necessary to gain the most benefit from each of the dance movement therapy excercises she had developed. As a result of Margaret Morris's exercises pupils' bodies quickly responded to this precise training. The students gained strong bodies, increased lung capacity, stronger bones and greater movement.
Margaret Morris dance classes are for all ages and abilities. The MM Health Play classes are pre-school dance movement sessions where the children have fun, find support and are offered an outlet for their creativity.
In the history of dance movement therapy in Britain Margaret Morris has not been properly honoured.
In the 1950s Veronica Sherbone used Laban based therapy with psychiatric patients. In 1965 she made her first film about "Movement for Mentally Handicapped Children".
Audrey Wethered came from a musical background but then trained as a private pupil with Rudolf Laban. Her dance movement work focussed on psychiatric patients, people with learning dificulties and psychotic and maladjusted children.
Veronica Sherborne realized how developmental movement plays a crucial role in the lives of all children. Central to her theory is the belief that creating relationships is essential for us to develop and mature satisfactorily.Developmental Movement can be especially beneficial to children with learning difficulties, children with physical problems and also with children who are emotionally and behaviourally disturbed.This is my attempt to give a history of dance movement therapy in the United States of America and Great Britain. Omissions and over-simplification have been impossible to avoid - so my apologies.
Dance movement therapy has spread worldwide and I would love to learn what is happening in other parts of the world so that I can add the information to A History of Dance Movement Therapy. RESOURCES for A HISTORY OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY:
Margaret Morris - A Phrophet Without Honour. Joan W. White
Theoretical Approaches in Dance Movement Therapy vol 1 Penny Lewis
Magaret Morris European Physical Education Review Eurythmy Veronica Sherborne
