La danse, c'est le mouvement, et
le mouvement, c'est la vie.
("Dance is movement, and movement is life.")
--Ludmilla Chiriaeff (Founder,
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens)
What is is about dancing, in a group, with an
intimate other, or alone, that can give us
that mystical rush and promote wellness on
so many levels? Is it the pre-cognitive memory
of the rhythm of the heartbeat keeping us safe?
Is it the emotional-spiritual connection to the
natural world we feel when moving pleasurably
in our animal body? Is it some atavistic source
of healing from our primal days?
This is my quest -- to discover the healing
properties of dance and how to best use and
promote this simplest and most profound gift of
our physical being.
Throughout our history, dancing has functioned
as a healing and balancing component, a form of
social communication and transcendent spiritual
ritual. Though patterns and forms vary, expressive
rhythmic movement is a very basic means of
relieving emotional tension and has from the
beginning been associated with religious ritual
and healing. We celebrate by dancing at weddings
and festivals, and join others in dance as the
quintessential romantic experience. Dancing
alone, feeling the rhythmic sway and getting in
touch with the extension and contraction of
muscles in a pleasurable context, is uplifting,
healing.
Dancing definitely helps to bring up my mood
and promote more sane reflection. When I can
get so caught up in the dance that I no longer
feel separate from the music and can move
within it, it seems to free something very
profound within me.
I am finding a wide variety of healing modalities,
spiritual activities and holistic therapies based on
our natural expression of energies through dance,
as well as community and individual art projects
promoting creativity and wholeness.
Most recently I am continuing through a LinkedIn group:
Healing through Dance.
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12227388/
I envision a web between the various healing
dance studies, theories, practitioners and
proponents through which to find, share
and expand on my own studies.
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