4d - Reviewing Literature 3 - "The Dancing Dialogue"

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"THE DANCING DIALOGUE" by Dr Suzi Tortora

            "Dance training creates an experiential knowing of how body and emotions interrelate through nonverbal expression." (2006, p6)

The above quote by Dr Suzie Tortora is taken from her book 'The Dancing Dialogue'. Tortora is a Dance Movement Therapist. As part of my enquiry into Dance Teaching and Autism I wanted to look at Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) because it is used to help people who are on the autistic spectrum, especially those who are nonverbal.In the book Tortora shows how movement is used to glean a deeper understanding of a child's personal expressions and social interactions. It is therefore very relevant for my research.

The American Dance Therapy Association defines DMT as:
      
      "the psychotherapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration of the individual."       

 Tortora discusses the benefits of DMT and explains the 'Ways of Seeing' method that she has developed to help people with disabilities. It is this, rather than the whole book, that I will review.

I first heard of Tortora and her 'Ways of Seeing' method when I came across the article she had written entitled :"Ways of Seeing: An Early Childhood Integrated Therapeutic Approach for Parents and Babies" In it she says the 'Ways of Seeing' method is:

      "based on dance/movement therapy principles that incorporate dance, movement, music, creative expression, and Laban nonverbal movement analysis to facilitate healing and change." (2010, p37)

Longstaff gives a brief overview of Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and Laban Notation as being:
     

      "methods for observing, describing, notating, and understanding all types of body movement. They provide a language and notation for detailed analyses of body movement, identification of specific movement attributes, and promotion effective physical performance of movement characteristics. Further, the methods draw on underlying theories and concepts for body movement 'harmony', health, and physical ability."  (2007)


LMA uses Body, Effort, Space and Shape to provide information about which part of the body is moving and how and where it is moving in relation to one's own kinesphere  and to the surrounding space.

I was already acquainted with Laban Analysis from my studies at the Laban Centre so was interested to discover that Tortora uses it to help measure the progress of people on her 'Ways of Seeing' programme. 

The 'Ways of Seeing' method involves the processes which Tortora calls: Match, Dialogue, Explore and Expand and Nonverbal to Verbal Expression. Match incorporates attunement and mirroring. Kossak defines attunement as:


      "a felt embodied experience that can be individualistic as well as communal,that includes a psychological,emotional, and somatic state of consciousness." (2009, p 14)


McGarry and Russo define mirroring in relation to DMT below:


      "Mirroring involves imitation by the therapist of movements, emotions, or intentions implied by a client's movement, and is commonly practiced in order to enhance empathy of the therapist for the client."(2011,p178)


The basic concept behind 'The Dancing Dialogue' is that, by tuning in to and imitating the child's movements a relationship between the child and the therapist develops. The therapist can then interpret the child's moods via his/her body language and respond, through movement, to the child. A bond is then formed which allows the child to evolve his/her own way of expressing emotion through movement.This can eventually lead to the child verbalising the feelings. 

The 'Ways of Seeing' approach above happens in three stages:

• Stimulate - is associated with the Match process described above and is the initial exploration of moments of connection that emerge between the child and therapist via body movements 

• Activate- is where the child begins to interact more fully with the therapist and a dialogue of movement begins to emerge, but is still in response to prompts from the therapist

• Mobilize- is the final stage when the child takes a leadership role and initiates the movement dialogue

Tortora illustrates her 'Ways of Seeing' method with vignettes which demonstrate her theories. She then shows how she uses Laban Analysis and a Movement Signature Impressions (MIS)checklist to assess the effects of the movement sessions and develop a course of action for the next session. Tortora explains the MIS as:

      "the range of movement qualities and elements observed during this assessment that the child uses to express himself or herself"

I found the book very informative.Tortura explains her theories clearly and the examples that she mentions, showing how she puts her theories into practice, give the reader a real insight into her work.

The effects of Tortora's 'Ways of Seeing' approach on the children mentioned are all shown to be positive. I was left pondering several questions that the book didn't answer:

1.  What were the long term effects of this therapeutic treatment approach? 
2. Did these children continue to have regular sessions throughout their childhood or was there a point where they had progressed so much that they were deemed unnecessary, or, in fact, a point where they ceased to be effective? 
3. What happened in adolescence and adulthood? Was therapy of this nature still a part of their lives?
4. Were the positive developments solely attributable to this therapy or were the children receiving help in other areas, for example at special schools, that might have also contributed?
5. Was the development something that might have occurred as a natural process of psychological and physical development that had just manifested itself later than was normally recognised as typical?

I think it is undeniable that dance movement can have a positive effect upon people's general well being. There is much literature that provides evidence of this. One such article by Penedo et al entitled "Exercise and well-being: a review of mental and physical health benefits associated with physical activity" states:

      " in randomized clinical trials of physical-activity interventions show better health outcomes, including better general and health-related quality of life, better functional capacity and better mood states." (2005, p 189)

The clinical psychologist Anat Baniel maintains that:

      "Movement is the language of the brain. Movement is a window to the brain and movement opens to us a magnificent opportunity to communicate with the brain of the child on the (autistic) spectrum and help it heal." (2015, online)


Whether it can be proven that DMT or Tortora's 'Ways of Seeing' method can be used as a long term effective therapeutic treatment for people on the autistic spectrum is open for debate, but I believe that the 'The Dancing Dialogue' certainly provides a valuable insight into the benefits that can be derived from dance movement and so supports my research into the area of Dance Teaching and Autism.

Bibliography

AMERICAN DANCE THERAPY ASSOCIATION (2009-2015), ABOUT DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPY, ONLINE, http://www.adta.org/about_dmt , ACCESSED FEBRUARY 2015

BANIEL, A  (2015), BREAKTHROUGH TREATMENT FOR AUTISM IN CHILDREN, AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AND THE ANAT BANIEL METHOD, ONLINE, http://www.anatbanielmethod.com/children/autism-spectrum-disorder ACCESSED MARCH 2015


LONGSTAFF, JS (2007),  OVERVIEW OF LABAN ANALYSIS AND LABAN NOTATION ONLINE  http://www.laban-analyses.org/laban_analysis_reviews/laban_analysis_notation/overview/summary.htm
ACCESSED MARCH 2015

MCGARRY, L M,  RUSSO F, A MIRRORING IN DANCE /MOVEMENT THERAPY ; POTENTIAL MECHANISMS BEHIND EMPATHY , THE ARTS IN PSYCHOTHERAPY, ONLINE, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197455611000426 ACCESSED APRIL 2015

PENUDO, F, DAHN, J (2005)  EXERCISE AND WELL-BEING; A REVIEW OF MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, CURRENT OPINION IN PSYCHIATRY, VOL 18, ISSUE 2,ONLINE,http://journals.lww.com/co-psychiatry/Abstract/2005/03000/Exercise_and_well_being__a_review_of_ment ACCESSED APRIL 2015

SPLETE, H (2005) DANCE THERAPY HELPS IN COPING WITH AUTISM, PEDIATRIC NEWS,ONLINE,http://ped.imng.com/fileadmin/content_pdf/ped/archive_pdf/vol39iss5/70241_main.pdf ACCESSED JANUARY 2015

TORTORA, S (2006), THE DANCING DIALOGUE, PAUL H. BROOKES PUBLISHING INC.