Dance movement therapy. Dance improvisation helps

Conceptual introduction:

The main goal of dance-movement therapy is to gain a sense and awareness of one's own “I”.

School rules require children and adolescents to persevere, be patient, and perform assigned tasks. In the correctional work of a teacher-psychologist, the method of dance therapy for working with children is necessary and important. Since people (children, adolescents) under our contemporary culture begin to treat their body as an object, they are alienated from their body. Behavior in society requires the ability to control one's body, give it some form, shape, and restrain oneself. This leads to intrapersonal conflicts, to low self-esteem, to isolation, and, of course, complexes develop.

Dance therapy invites the body to “talk”, gives it the opportunity to “speak out”, to relax. In dance, a person develops physically and emotionally, the body and consciousness are considered as equivalent forces. Dance therapy is more interested in how movement feels than how it looks.

Joan Smallwood identified three components of the therapeutic process in dance therapy:

1. Awareness (of body parts, breath, feelings, images, non-verbal “double messages” (when there is a dissonance between a person’s verbal and non-verbal messages).
2. Increase in the expressiveness of movements (development of flexibility, spontaneity, diversity of movement elements, including factors of time, space and strength of movement, determination of the boundaries of one's movement and their expansion).
3. Authentic movement (spontaneous, dance-motor improvisation, coming from the inner sensation, including the experience of experiences and feelings and leading to the integration of the personality).

Principles of the dance therapy group:

• voluntariness of participation;
• "here and now";
• privacy;
• open expression feelings;
• responsibility;
• activity.

Target: promoting the physical and emotional integration of the personality of group members.

Tasks:

• deepening the group members' awareness of their own bodies;
• development of awareness of the possibilities of using the body, ways of expressing feelings;
• establishing by the group members the connection of feelings with movements, the release and exploration of feelings through dance expression.

Greeting - bow.

Stages of work: Stage I - warming up

Target: Help each participant prepare their body for work.

Materials: Music player, music records.

Exercise “Dance separate parts body”

Goals: warming up the participants; awareness and removal of muscle clamps; expansion of the expressive repertoire.

Materials: Musical recording with a clear rhythmic pattern.

Time: 3 min.

I invite all participants to stand in a circle. We will start our lesson with a warm-up. I will name in turn the parts of the body, the dance of which we will perform. Everyone comes up with their own moves.

• hand dance
• hand dance
• head dance
• shoulder dance
• belly dance
• foot dance

Participants strive to use the named part of the body in the dance as much as possible.

Issues for discussion:

• Which dance was easy to perform, which was difficult?
• What did you feel while dancing?
• Was it difficult or easy to come up with your own movements?

II. Stage - Main activity

Goals: Deepening the group members' awareness of their own bodies; development of awareness of the possibilities of using the body, ways of expressing feelings; establishing by the group members the connection of feelings with movements, the release and exploration of feelings through dance expression.

Exercise "Actor director"

Goals: the acquisition of new motor experience, the participants' awareness of their dance-expressive stereotypes.

Materials: rhythmic music.

Lead time: 10 minutes

Usually our movements are quite stereotyped and now we will try to change these movements with you.

And the first task will be to perform simple movements. I will call them a word, and you will carry out. From the beginning, stereotypically simple, as you do it daily, and then in some special way, as you have never done before.

Squats

The next exercise is very interesting. It's called "Actor, Director". Now let's split into pairs. One will be an actor, the other a director. The actor begins to make arbitrary movements. At the word “shift” uttered by the director, the actor radically changes his movements. The task is completed within 2 minutes. Then change roles and continue for another 2 minutes.

Discussion: Now I propose to discuss your new motor experience. What did you feel? What have you experienced? Your attitude? What movements of the partner did you pay attention to?

Exercise: “Following the leader”

Goals: Experimentation of participants with different movements and interpersonal positions of leader and follower; participants' awareness of their dance-expressive stereotypes.

Materials: Musical recordings of different styles that stimulate dance expression.

Time: 10 min.

For the next exercise, we need to split into groups of 4-5 people.

Each of the groups of 4-5 people should line up in a row, each group should have its own leader standing opposite the group. The leader must perform dance movements of the most unusual nature, and the rest of the group repeat after him, copying him. When the music changes, the leader stands at the end of the snake, and the one who walked right behind him becomes the leader, and must perform all the same functions. Everyone should bring their own movements, features. All members of the group must visit as a leader at least once.

Discussion: Describe what you experienced? How did you feel as a leader and as a follower? What was more difficult for you to come up with movements or repeat? Please describe how you feel about the exercise.

Exercise "Name"

I suggest doing the following exercise "Name". Your task is to take turns showing your name in motion. Because you want it. How do you see your name. And be sure to say it.

Discussion: Describe your mood?

And now we will complicate the exercise. Now we will all together take turns repeating the movement and pronouncing the name of each participant.

Discussion: What do you feel now, describe?

III. Stage - Completion

Goals: Restoration of breathing; stress relief and emotional arousal; consolidation of the results obtained during the training.

Materials: music player,

Exercise “Sunrise”

Goals: Relieve stress and emotional arousal; setting for positive thinking.

Materials: slow, calm music.

Time: 3 min.

Procedure: The group sits in a circle in their places. Relaxing music sounds. The facilitator slowly and clearly pronounces the following text: “Our training is coming to an end, but as philosophers say, any end is the beginning of something new. In our case, it will be awareness of oneself, one's capabilities, unity with the common Universe and its power, integration of soul and body. Sit comfortably. Relax. You can close your eyes or you can leave them open. Try to transport yourself with your inner vision to the pre-dawn seconds when the sky is getting lighter and the sun is about to rise. Watch around. Nature, as if frozen in anticipation of the sun. Trees, animals, insects - all are filled with extraordinary silence, as if they were transported, in their expectation, into magical land, between dream and reality, between night and day, darkness and light. A country that is not on any of the maps of the world. A country where everything is possible. Wait for you too. Wait for the sunrise like first love, with the same deep expectation, with such hope and uplift. Silently. Now, let the sun rise! Let its rays warm you with their warmth and light. Take a deep breath. As you breathe in, imagine golden light entering through your head and into your body, as if the sun had risen very close to your head. You are just empty, and the golden light fills your head and goes down, down to your toes. As you breathe in, visualize it. This golden light will help, it will cleanse your entire body and fill it with creativity. Feel how the magical solar heat spreads over your body, over each of its cells. Save these feelings. Take another deep breath. Now you can open the eyes of those who had them closed, take your usual position. From now on, if ever in your life you feel anxiety, fear, sadness, tension, let your inner sun rise...”

And, of course, we cannot finish our studies without thanking ourselves and each other for the good work.

Exercise "Clever"

Performed standing or sitting.

Leading. We stretch our hands forward, at the same time we reach for them and say: “Clever girl” (we stretch the “U” sound).

Exercise "Well Done"

Performed standing or sitting.

Leading. We stretch our arms to the sides, at the same time we lean forward, look at the right hand and say: “Well done” (we emphasize and pull the letter “e”, while directing the sound to the diaphragm).

Thanks to these exercises, clamps caused by stress are relaxed, and the formation of a number of important skills improves. In addition, these exercises give a confident positive attitude.

Discussion: How did you feel doing the last three exercises?

What sensations did you experience, what feelings did you experience?

And as expected, we need to stand in a circle and bow. Now with a bow we thank each other for our joint work.

Literature:

1. O. Oshurkova “ Fairy tale about a dream” journal “School Psychologist” [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://psy.1september.ru/view_article.php?id=200900606
2. Dance therapy [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://womanadvice.ru/tancevalnaya-terapiya
3. Training “Dance therapy” [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://www.psyoffice.ru/4-0-5609.htm
4. I. Dzhibladze “Dance therapy training” [Electronic resource]. - Access mode:

The term "dance therapy" has only recently begun to become widely known, but many people who want to improve their mental state have already become familiar with this technique.

AT major cities There are centers in Russia that popularize dance therapy and professionally help adult patients and children.

Dance therapy is a type of psychotherapy in which, during the process of movement (dance), the integration of social, cognitive, emotional and physical aspects human life.

This method of treatment is suitable for healthy people and those who are faced with emotional disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, impaired communication skills and other problems.

Dance as a form of communication has its roots in deep antiquity; at that time, the movement of the body to a certain rhythm was a ritual action that could haunt different goals: starting from social-communal and ending with healing practices.

Already at that time, dance accumulated functions that reflected the social and psychological life of a person and society. What was the dance for?

1. ritual communication. Dance was a form of transmission of sacred knowledge and communication with the divine.
2. A communicative function, when, with the help of dance, a person is able to establish contact with a representative of his species (among historians there is a theory that before the advent of language, communication between people took place through dance).
3. Identification function, when with the help of dance an individual shows his belonging to a particular community.
4. expressive function. Dance acts as a way of expressing feelings and relieving tension.
5. A cathartic function, when through dance a person gets the opportunity to immerse himself in intense negative experiences and thereby get rid of their toxic influence, get spiritual cleansing. (Catharsis is the intense experience of liberation and rebirth as a result of intense shock or suffering.)

Movements to music have coped with these tasks throughout the history of human existence. Medicinal properties dances were famous among the Indian tribes.

In China, a number of specific dance-gymnastic exercises such as Tai Chi Chuan were a popular practice during treatment.

shaolin monk

In England in the 19th century, there was a theory among doctors about beneficial effect dance for the treatment of diseases associated with physiological and psychological state patient, and thanks to the work of choreographers Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, the first theories of dance-movement psychotherapy were developed in the UK.

Martha Graham

The prerequisites for the development of dance therapy as a successful treatment method were formed long time, but in the twentieth century, 2 events happened that had a great influence on the formation of the direction. What led to the birth of dance therapy:

1. The emergence and rapid popularization of psychoanalysis in Europe and America, thanks to which they began to study unconscious mental processes.
2. The emergence of a new type of modern dance, prominent representatives who are considered to be Isadora Duncan, Rudolf Laban and Mary Wigman. By rejecting the canonical forms of dance, turning to new plots and using unusual dance and plastic means, representatives of this direction sought to convey personal, unconscious experience and individual self-expression.

The founder of dance therapy as a method of treatment is Marion Chase, who was a dancer and teacher.

While teaching dance with students, Marion drew attention to the division between students: if some focused attention directly on the dance technique, then others were occupied with the sensual component and self-expression.

By changing her teaching methods, she allowed her students to convey more emotions through freedom of movement, which made it possible to come to an understanding of the psychological benefits inherent in dance as a form of perception of the world and emotional interaction with it.

Working with children and adolescents in different educational institutions, she managed to make a proper impression on psychologists so that her method of treatment began to be taken seriously.

After that, she did dance-movement therapy with people who experienced both psychological and movement problems, and in 1946 Marion was invited as an active dance therapist at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, where, thanks to her work, efforts and knowledge, patients, up to As a result, those who were considered hopeless were able to learn how to interact in a group and express emotions, after which their treatment proceeded in classical form but with great success.

As an independent discipline, dance therapy began to develop after 1966, when the American Association for Dance Psychotherapy was formed.

Advantages and features of the method

Mostly people who learn about dance therapy turn to dance therapy. the world and defining their place in it through movement, through their body.

Movement in their case is seen as a way to express and understand themselves, because at some stage they lost touch with themselves, harmony and a sense of integrity.

Without feeling contact with their body, people lose touch with their deep, lively and creative beginning, connection with own nature. The principles and goals of dance movement therapy, on the basis of which the treatment methodology is based, are as follows:

1. There is an integration of bodily and mental experience. There is an integrity of mental, behavioral processes and emotional involvement of the individual. Changes in one aspect entail changes in others.
2. With the help of dance, you can communicate on three levels: with the world as such, with other members of the group, with yourself. This creates a unified and own system of communication.
3. Movement reveals creative potential, which is the essence and root cause of human energy.

It is important to remember that dance therapy is primarily a direction of psychology, not art. The beauty of dance gestures and movements, plasticity, performance technique and dance direction are not key aspects of therapy.

Through involvement in creative process, capable of opening the way for a person to study and realize himself, his capabilities and limits, the patient gets the opportunity to work out other tasks. What dance gives:

1. Improves physical and emotional condition.
2. Increased self-esteem and feeling dignity, a person learns to trust himself in a new way and builds his own favorable image.
3. The experience of integrating feelings, thinking and movement becomes important for relationships with oneself and with others.

In addition, in cases of group therapy in patients with psychological problems the process of interaction with people is being established, new communication skills are being taught.

Classification options for dance movement therapy

Considering dance therapy with different points of view, at least two classifications can be distinguished, reflecting the approach to the methodology of treatment and the requirements for the education of a dance therapist, to the complexity and uniqueness of the complex of measures to provide assistance to patients.

The first classification is based on the number of participants. Allocate the following types dance therapy:

• individual;
• steam room;
• group.

The most popular and well-developed today is the latter, since it allows you to effectively and efficiently treat many people at once. Usually all participants are involved in the process at once, but different formats are also possible (for example, when someone moves and someone watches).

Accordingly, the second classification is based on the requirements for the specific education, experience and skills of the dance therapist who conducts the treatment.

Here are the types of dance therapy according to this classification:

1. Clinical dance therapy for patients with mental disorders It is used as an additional method of treatment on a par with medication. Considered the most complex view dance therapy. It is widely used in cases where patients have a speech disorder and have difficulty communicating with other people. For the appearance and consolidation of improvements, a long-term therapeutic effect is required.
2. Dance psychotherapy for mentally and physically healthy people with specific requests. Or for somatic patients who experience difficulties at the physiological level and consider dance therapy, first of all, as additional way treatment of disorders associated with movement and coordination.
3. Dance art therapy for people who do not suffer from mental illness, but who have a desire to develop, their skills and take a fresh look at the world. In this case, therapy serves as a way of self-expression, expanding the idea of ​​yourself, your body.

Both group work and individual sessions can be really useful and bring a new, inspiring experience.

TDT techniques and their characteristics

In dance-movement therapy, there are several possible types of dance, which are used depending on the safety of physical capabilities.

1. An unstructured dance consisting of spontaneous and varied movements. This option is often chosen for the treatment of neuroses. Spontaneous movements are perceived as an element of the game, with which you can express emotions and sensations.
2. A structured dance, to which, for example, a round dance can be attributed. The circle dance has special therapeutic properties, gives a sense of belonging, community and closeness.

Except circle dance exercises characterized by a clear and competent structure include techniques aimed at relaxation and concentration or movement in the environment.

For patients with psychotic disorders, mirror responses can be perceived as aggression, which adversely affects the effectiveness of therapy. For group members to feel comfortable and safe, the therapist must be empathic and sufficiently qualified.

Dance Therapy for Children

Today, dance therapy for children is one of the most popular ways to treat young patients with communication disorders. Teaching children to dance in general education, developmental and leisure centers takes place in rhythm classes with professional teacher. C rhythm has a positive effect on the development of plasticity and grace in a child. He learns to hear the rhythm and understand the music, to coordinate what he hears with the movements of the body.

First, the teacher teaches children the elements of dance, helps to form and develop new motor skills, but imitation itself is only half the work. Working with children for development creativity there are elements of performances and games when children can use fictitious images, turn on fantasy, appeal to their own emotional experiences and reveal emotions.

Ask an expert in the comments

Dance has been used by people since ancient times as a tool for relationships. People danced during all significant events, in their anticipation and for the glory of what happened. This happened outside the door of the woman in labor and near the deathbed. With the development of civilization, dances have become a subject of art for a person. They were assigned a strict place, limited by the boundaries of decency reasons for dancing. But in human nature there is a love for dance, and then dance therapy was invented.

The foundations of this science were laid by renowned psychologists. Among them are Freud, Adler, Jung. This science was promoted by A. Duncan, M. Wigman, Rudolf von Laban.

The world's first dance therapist is considered to be American dancer Marion Chase. She worked in the 30s of the last century. Her work was based on strict training in the rules different dances. However, the woman noticed that people dance more relaxed, and give themselves up to invented movements with great enthusiasm. Their body is liberated, and a smile plays on their faces. She began to build her lessons on the combination spontaneous dance and traditional movements.

To help emotions get out, a person must dance.

In 1966, America's first dance association was founded. In the 90s, the movement, popular by that time in the West, came to us.

Dance Movement Therapy: Theory and Practice

Dance therapy has a positive effect on people who do not know how to express emotions and suffer from this. Classes with dance therapists are built both on an individual basis and in groups. For the teacher of courses, it is necessary to have a psychological and dance education. The principle of working in a group is simple - those present receive a task, complete it and share their impressions with each other.

The benefits of dance therapy are threefold:

The state of health, blood supply and physical form are normalized;
A person, feeling himself in a new hypostasis, acquires a great;
Learns using body language.

Classes help:

Group dance therapy

The difference in teaching in group dance therapy is that the people who come to the group become one whole process. They look like a dance in a round dance or improvisation in a group. special treatment given to the synchronism of gestures and movements, the unity of the experiences of students. The groups are divided into pairs, where one of the partners plays the chosen role, and the second tries to force him to give up his position with the help of body movements. Many students complain that new faces appear in groups and familiar ones disappear. But it helps those who remain learn to quickly adapt to change and find common ground with new people.

Dance therapists try to teach people to understand a partner through his movements, to look for the true background of his actions and actions. Conversations in the group are replaced by a dance, where each of those who were listened to expresses their thoughts with the help of dance steps. If the group members are inclined to talk today, the classes are held in the form of a monologue followed by a discussion. If today they want to dance more than talk, the teacher follows the desires of the group.

Dance Therapy - Exercises

There are several exercises that all dance therapists use in their lessons. If you are unable to attend dance groups, take advantage of their developments in self-study. So, exercises for dance therapy:

Dance of individual parts of the body.

Turn on the music and dance. First with one hand, then with the other, then with each foot separately, and so on. Be sure to “dance” with your face - lips, eyes, forehead muscles. As you dance, remember what feelings you experienced at what moment. Write them down in a notebook.

We move as best we can.

Now, which one you like best, and dance to it as you see fit. Change the motive to the opposite, and move under it. Write down how your mood has changed depending on the change in dance and music.

Music style.

Select musical works in different styles. Try to eliminate the ones you don't like. Turn on in a row and dance, choosing movements spontaneously. Fix your attitude to each style, and write down your feelings.

In front of the mirror.

Looking at yourself in the mirror, dance. What feelings does the person who dances on the other side of the reflective surface evoke in you?

Get dressed.

Try putting on a costume show for yourself. According to each musical style dress up and dance.

Are you a tiger or a rabbit?

Imagine that you are an animal and move like the character you are portraying. Now explain why you chose a tiger, a rabbit, or a kitten.

Try to move to the music the way you imagine any work. For example, washing or ironing clothes. Take as a template your regular activities - brushing your teeth, eating, shaving, etc. Change movements, experiment.

professional dance.

Turn on clips or TV shows that have a lot of music and professional dancing. Copy their movements and pas. What feelings do you experience?

Place a reproduction of the painting in front of you. Try to express her mood in dance.

We dance like others.

Remember how your friends dance. Reproduce their movements. What feelings did you have?

Sitting position.

Sit on the floor and move to the music in a sitting position.

Lying position.

Now stretch out on the bed or on the floor and keep dancing to the music.

Imagination.

Turn on the music, close your eyes, and try to imagine how you would like to move to it.

"Partner".

Take a toy, a chair, or an umbrella as a partner. Anything that comes to your mind and does not interfere with moving around is suitable as a “partner” for dancing.

And so on until you can hold objects in your arms, armpits and between your legs.

Who needs dance therapy?

People who feel disharmony between body and spirit turn to dance therapists. This feeling comes from early years when a child does not feel the love of parents and people around him, when he is haunted by guilt for his actions, when he independently has to learn to survive in the world around him. Including if in adolescence a person experienced a feeling of dissatisfaction with his body. This feeling does not disappear even with the years. A person seeks and finds in dance therapy awareness of himself, body and personality.

The whole process is based on the struggle of opposites or the achievement of what was considered unattainable. In addition, a person, discovering new opportunities in himself, learns to think creatively. He examines himself from different points of view, begins to really look at things, and correctly evaluate actions and misconduct.

Dance therapists give students the opportunity to feel the rhythm of the music and express inner feelings with the help of body movements. They evoke from the hidden corners of the soul of every person those experiences and problems that have not found solutions. They help to find answers to questions that a person has been looking for in vain for years.

Dance therapy as a separate area of ​​psychotherapy took shape around the 50s-70s of the twentieth century (Rudestam, 1998). On the one hand, it originates from ancient rituals and traditions, and on the other hand, it is a “joint product” of the development of modern dance and psychotherapy.

The official definition of the American Dance Movement Therapy Association (http://www.adta.org/) is: movement therapy is a type of psychotherapy that uses movement to develop a person's social, cognitive, emotional and physical life.

Like all areas of body therapy, dance movement therapy is based on the understanding that the body and mind are interconnected - changes in body and movement patterns cause changes in the emotional, mental and behavioral spheres. Body and mind are seen as equal forces in integrated functioning. “There is such a close relationship between the muscular tension-relaxation sequence (included in all expressive movements) and the mental set that not only is the mental set associated with the muscular state, but also each tension-relaxation sequence evokes a specific set” (Schilder, 1950). The main task of dance therapy is to encourage spontaneous expressive movements, through the implementation of which mobility develops and strengths are strengthened not only on the physical, but also on the mental level (Osipova, 2000). Thus, one of the fundamental provisions of dance therapy is the belief that when the manner and nature of a person’s movements, which reflect the traits of his personality, change, his feelings both towards himself and towards his own body change. Through motor interaction, the therapist helps clients develop self-awareness, work through emotional blockages, explore alternative behaviors, make perceptions of self and others more accurate, and bring about behavioral changes that will lead to healthier functioning. Dance allows a person to say without risk everything that can and cannot be expressed in words; it facilitates access to deep-seated fantasies and allows them to be shaped, thus the dance symbolically expresses human possibilities and conflicts.

First of all, people for whom movement is a way of processing information (they are sometimes called kinesthetics) turn to dance therapy. To fully understand something, they need to feel it in the body and find expression in movement. For them, movement is a way of self-expression, self-knowledge and development (Biryukova, 1998).

It can also be people of a different warehouse (say, auditory and visual types), who at a certain stage in their lives realized that in order to solve a problem they need to turn to their body, learn to understand its language and enter into a dialogue with it.

Some therapists of this direction combine the therapeutic approach with a certain type of dance (for example, flamenco or belly dance), but much more often in dance-movement therapy, the style of modern or contemporary dance is used, since it is these directions that are associated with personal, authorial, deeply individual expression through movements .

The fundamental difference between therapy and a dance school lies in the absence of a predetermined result - an image, a style, a vocabulary of movement. For dance therapy, it is more important that a person feels when he moves. The way it looks is more of a diagnostic value. The second difference is the presence of a therapist, i.e. a person who has a special psychotherapeutic education combined with experience in dancing. The third difference is the ratio of verbal modality and dance. Dance therapy is always associated with the establishment and deepening of connections in the "body-consciousness" system and therefore refers to different languages ​​- both to the "language" of the body, sensations, feelings, and to verbal and symbolic languages. In principle, the relationship between these two modalities may be different, but the “therapeutic” process largely depends on the creation of an adequate context, the possibility of comprehending and integrating experience.

The idea of ​​dance as a phenomenon that occurs at the intersection of socio-cultural, socio-psychological and personal coordinates allows us to define dance, taking into account its various functions, as (Shkurko, 2003):

1. A form of non-verbal catharsis. From this point of view, dance performs the following psychophysiological, psychological and psychotherapeutic functions:

The function of cathartic release of pent-up, repressed feelings and emotions, including socially undesirable ones;

The function of motor-rhythmic expression, discharge and redistribution of excess energy;

The function of activating, energizing the body;

The function of reducing anxiety, resistance, tension, aggression;

Improving function (function of psychophysical prevention);

self-regulation function.

2. View non-verbal communication, endowed with all the functions of communication:

The function of people knowing each other;

The function of organizing interpersonal interaction;

The function of formation and development of relations.

3. The fulfillment of communication functions by dance is possible due to the fact that it is a set of non-verbal signals and signs that have a spatio-temporal structure and carry information about the psychological characteristics of an individual and a group. From this point of view, dance performs the following socio-psychological functions:

The function of expressing feelings, relationships and relationships of the individual;

The function of creating an image of a partner and a group;

The function of understanding and mutual understanding, since it stimulates the processes of interpretation in communication;

The function of establishing and regulating relations;

The function of self-knowledge and knowledge of others;

relationship diagnostic function.

4. A sociocultural phenomenon in which social values, social attitudes find their expression, social motives are reflected. It is from this point of view that the study of dance acquires special meaning to study the history of human development.

5. A type of spatio-temporal art, artistic images of which are created by means of aesthetically significant, rhythmically systematized movements and postures (Koroleva, 1977).

6. Symbol of life and worldwide movement.

The identified functions of dance reflect its complex nature and at the same time emphasize its socio-cultural, socio-psychological and psychological status, which determine the role of dance in human life and the possibility of its use in psychotherapy.

Dance movement therapy can be part of various psychotherapeutic approaches and "work" on different levels consciousness. In addition to being a harmonious physical practice in itself, dance therapy can use various models of therapeutic work:

1) the principles of emotional catharsis therapy (because the bodily expression of feelings is the most direct and natural way to access meaningful areas of experience);

2) a model of psychoanalytic (deep) therapy (since dance allows you to realize preverbal experience and early stages of development);

3) scenario and role therapy approaches (because dance is “the highest and most perfect form of play” and a visual way of symbolization (Hizinga, 1992);

4) the views of existential therapy (when love, loneliness, freedom, responsibility and death become the themes of dance and "partners" in it).

There are three areas of application of dance therapy (Girshon, 2000):

- treatment of patients (clinical dance therapy) - in this case, dance therapy is more often used as an auxiliary, along with medicinal, especially for clients with speech disorders. It is carried out in clinics, it can last several years. In this form, it has existed since the 40s of the last century;

- therapy of people with psychological problems (dance psychotherapy) - one of the types of psychotherapy focused on solving specific client needs, most often using the psychodynamic model of consciousness (psychoanalysis) or the approach of analytical psychology by C. G. Jung. It can take place both in group and in individual form. Also, to achieve a sustainable result, a fairly long time is required here;

- for personal development and self-improvement. These are classes for people who do not suffer from problems, but want something more from their lives. In this case, the dance becomes a means of knowing oneself, one's special individual qualities, allows one to bring unconscious material to the light of awareness, makes it possible to expand one's idea of ​​oneself, to find new ways of expression and interaction with other people.

Dance-movement therapy can be carried out in group and individual form. There is also family dance therapy to work with family problems; there are children's groups for preschoolers and schoolchildren that develop creative abilities, communication skills, helping to prepare and adapt at school. There are unique programs for children (child-parent groups) that correct disharmonic development (mental retardation, minimal brain dysfunction etc.). In groups and individually, work is carried out with people suffering from various psychogenic functional disorders and psychosomatic diseases. Dance therapy is used as a way to prepare couples for childbirth and the role of parents, as well as for postpartum support - special groups for babies from 0 to 3 years old and their mothers. Work is also underway with people suffering from post-traumatic disorders, with disabled children, and refugees.

Dance therapy is used when working with people who have emotional disorders, communication disorders, interpersonal interaction.

The use of this method requires a sufficiently deep preparation from the psychologist, since this type of interaction can wake up powerful emotions, which is not so easy to find a solution. Dance moves when combined with physical contact and intense interpersonal interaction, they can evoke very deep and intense feelings.

The goal of dance therapy is to develop awareness of one's own body, create a positive body image, develop communication skills, explore feelings and gain group experience. In the history of the development of dance therapy, K. Rudestam identifies a number of key events.

The first is connected with the need for physical and mental rehabilitation of veterans who returned from the fields of the Second World War. Dance therapy has become helper method rehabilitation of disabled people, many of whom either could not speak at all, or were not inclined to be subjected to verbal influence. After classes in the dance class, they noted that they experienced feelings of relief and spiritual harmony.

Another factor contributing to the rise in popularity of dance therapy was the human relations training movement that emerged in the 1960s, which became the basis for the development of new experimental approaches in working with groups and in developing the personality of their participants.

Finally, interest in new dance therapy programs has been fueled by research on non-verbal communication, especially the analysis of communicative functions human body. Dance therapy is mainly used in group work.

The main task of dance therapy groups is the implementation of spontaneous movement. Dance therapy encourages freedom and expressiveness of movement, develops mobility and strengthens strength both on a physical and mental level. The body and mind are considered in it as a whole.

The main setting is formulated as follows: movements reflect personality traits. With any emotional shifts, well-being changes, both mental and physical, and the nature of our movements changes accordingly.

Dance therapy is aimed at solving the following problems:
1. #Deepening awareness of the members of the group of their own body and the possibilities of its use. This not only improves the physical, emotional state of the participants, but also serves as entertainment for many of them. At the beginning of the first lesson, the psychologist observes the participants, assesses the strengths
and the flaws in the movement repertoire of each, then determines which movements will suit each client best.
2. Strengthening self-esteem in group members by developing a more positive body image. Clients with severe impairments may have difficulty drawing the line between their own body and objects environment. In such groups, dance therapy aims to create an adequate body image for the participants. Dancing allows you to make your body image more attractive, which is directly related to a more positive image of "I".
3. Development of social skills through the acquisition by participants of the appropriate pleasant experience. Dance movements are relatively safe remedy connections with others while learning socially acceptable behavior. Dance therapy creates conditions for creative interaction, allows you to overcome the barriers that arise during verbal communication.
4. Help group members get in touch with their own feelings by establishing a connection between feelings and movements. At creative attitude the client to the movements to the music, the dance acquires expressiveness, allowing you to release repressed feelings and explore hidden conflicts that can be a source mental stress. Here the psychodynamic concept of "catharsis" is extended to dance, since its movements release hidden feelings, and this has a direct corrective meaning. Dance movements are not only expressive, but also have the ability to release physical tension, especially if they include rocking and stretching.
5. Creation of a "magic ring". Classes in a group involve the joint work of participants, games and experiments with gestures, postures, movements and other non-verbal forms of communication. All this as a whole contributes to the acquisition by the participants of group experience, all components of which at the unconscious level form a closed stable complex - the "magic ring"

Along with the above, the following tasks are also solved:
increasing motor activity; communicative training and organization of sociotherapeutic communication;
obtaining diagnostic material for the analysis of the patient's behavioral stereotypes and his self-knowledge;
emancipation of the patient, the search for authentic ways of development.

Special dance therapy exercises are free swinging, movements that require composure and control over the body, alternating relaxation and composure associated with the respiratory cycle, moving around the room in a strictly defined way.

In the first phase, which takes several minutes, dance therapy sessions are usually used as a warm-up to help each participant prepare their body for work, much like a musician tunes his instrument before a performance. Warm-up exercises have physical ("warm-up"), mental (identification with feelings) and social (establishment of contacts) aspects.

One of the options for starting classes is to perform spontaneous free-form movements to a potpourri of different melodies. Here there are exercises that include shaking, stretching, rocking, clapping, shaking, which, starting from the hands, extend to the elbow joints, shoulders, chest. These exercises are repeated until the entire group has warmed up properly.
At the second stage, the development of a group theme takes place. For example, the theme of "meetings and partings" is being developed. At the level of movements, separate parts of the body can "meet" and "part". Hands and elbows can "meet" to immediately "break up", or they can "meet" to "fight" or to "hug" each other. Interaction between members of the group can be facilitated by the meeting of the palms of one with the elbows of the other, etc.

At the final stage of the lesson, the topic is developed using the entire space provided to the group, while changing the speed of movements and their sequence. The leader either determines the nature of the movement of the participants, or repeats them himself.

For diagnostic analysis of movements and assistance to group members in expanding their motor repertoire, the "Effort Form Analysis System" developed by R. Loban is often used.

R. Loban (1960) developed a system for describing the analysis and diagnosis of movements, known as the "Effort System", or "Form of Effort", based on the application special characters and intended to describe the dynamic and spatial aspects of movements.

In the "System of effort", according to Loban, the dynamics of movements is described by four parameters:
1. Space.
2. Strength.
3. Time.
4. Current.

Each parameter has two poles: space, which can be direct and multifocal; strength - powerful and light; time - fast and smooth; flow is free and limited.

Each movement can be characterized by any of these dimensions, and their combinations make up the eight basic forces involved in the movement. For example, the impact force is fast, powerful, and direct, while the pressure force is smooth, powerful, and direct. Using the Loban system, it is possible to analyze movements in a group, which makes it possible to help group members in the study and expansion of their motor repertoire.

The leader of the group can be: a dance partner, a manager (organizer), a catalyst for the development of the personality of the participants through movement.

It creates an atmosphere of calm and trust in the group, allowing participants to explore themselves and others, and also reflects and develops the spontaneous movements of group members.

The leader of the group uses exercises that are structured in a certain way to promote relaxation, proper breathing, changing the body in space and strengthening self-control.
Dance therapy is used to improve the physical condition, release emotions, improve interpersonal skills, to receive positive emotions, expand self-awareness. The usual duration of a lesson is 40-50 minutes. Classes can be daily, weekly (for several months or years).

For preventive purposes, it is possible to carry out one-time dance marathons. The optimal quantitative composition of the group is 5-12 people.

The question of the nature of the musical accompaniment of classes is debatable. Some leaders prefer standard tape recordings of folk and (or) dance music, others - their own (or their assistants) improvised musical accompaniment. In all cases, it is emphasized that the individual cultural significance of the music offered to the client should not overlap the significance and pleasure of one's own motor activity, therefore it is better to use melodies unfamiliar to the group, moderate sound volume and physiologically oriented rhythms that contribute to the formation of trance states of consciousness.

It can be used as an auxiliary or main method of correction in groups of children and adolescents, in sanatorium conditions, in the correction of dysgamia in married couples, for socio-psychological and motor training of people with hearing and vision impairments or in the rehabilitation period (after cardiac surgery, limb fractures, etc.).