At One Time: The 2015 Marian Chace Foundation Lecture

Appendix

Below are some of the identifiable goals of our dance performances and their correlation with therapeutic elements of dance/movement therapy. This was originally presented by Jenny Moore, BC-DMT, when she and Marylee Hardenbergh presented their work on site dance to a Master’s Degree program class in DMT at David Yellom University in Jerusalem, Israel in spring 2009 (Hardenbergh & Wager, 2009).

(1) Inclusivity. There is a sense of belonging to community, and anyone who wants to be part of project can be. This includes non-dancers who want to perform; we find roles for them that are on par with their skill, and do not ask them to do arabesques where they will not be presented in their best light. We fit the choreography to the level of the dancers. The homeless men in the city of Atlanta invited to be part of the ADTA dance in 2001 had radiant faces after the performance. Other unlikely people to be included are the lock and dam staff at the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Park Service workers, the drawbridge operators. The whole performance is very much like the container we make for our Dance Therapy sessions, and people can come into the circle of activity if they want. We intend to make people feel invited.

(2) Shared purpose. Having a common goal that everyone is working toward creates the sense of: Here we are as a group, facing the same direction, moving together towards a deadline, creating something larger than any one individual could do alone. Because the container has been intentionally set, something bigger than the sum of its parts can come through because of this opening. To make an impact, to be part of something that will make the world a better place are shared goals, whether stated out loud or not.

(3) Expanded sense of self. Individuals are asked to take on another role. Step out of familiar, try on new movements, moving away from habitual patterns of movement, come out of one’s routine and place in day-to-day life. Audience members also are asked to do this when invited to join in experiential movement in the Finale of the performance, and to expand their role from being passive spectators.

(4) Being seen and affirmed, in the performance, the audience can be seen as the witness. Performers are being seen as valuable members of this dance community, and being encouraged in this new valued role. This community-based affirmation supports not only who the performers are, but who they can become.

(5) Having a specified role. In the DMT group, each person is asked to see themselves as an important member of the circle, that without them, there would be a gap in the group. Having a role in the dance, i.e., being needed to fulfill an important task relative to the overall success of the project supports a sense of individual importance. Even the smallest tasks take on new meaning and importance, especially when done to music and within the container of the dance, since they serve a bigger purpose to the overall success of the performance.

(6) Creating beauty. Highlighting elements of the site allows all to see that familiar scene in a new, beautiful way. Beauty can be created externally or internally, such as the performers dressing up in a costume, feeling beautiful, being told by audience that they moved beautifully. Using fabric to bring out the already existing colors at the site, i.e. navigational colors, or adding colors to (re)present an historic element, such as the four sacred colors of the Dakota Indian Nation along the Mississippi River. Making the beauty of the site, of the individual, more visible.

(7) Reconnection to something larger. Through the dance, individuals find themselves connecting in a deeper way to the site, to other dancers, the audience, the Divine. These dances serves as a reminder that we are all connected, not isolated beings. This allows support to be given and received. This container gives people a certain amount of time to just be part of their environment, their community. A sense of belonging is fostered through this structure of time and place of event. Our dances are also “time-specific” meaning that we can connect to larger-than-ourselves events, events that are reoccurring, such as the rising of the full moon, Solstice, the setting sun, bringing a feeling of being connected to natural rhythms.

(8) Seeing self in new way. “I never thought I could do this.” Self-doubt, resistance, gives way to risk-taking, raised self-esteem with success of project. Challenges are offered through new tasks, such as offering movement to whole group to try, dancing on high rooftops gives people opportunity to conquer fear of heights, fear of water, men on machines.

(9) Giving something back. Here is what can bring a feeling of having something of value to offer. I have a role to fulfill, it’s expected of me. I can feel needed. The overall success of the dance depends on me (good kind of pressure). I will be missed if I don’t show up. I have a thread to weave into the overall fabric.