- Using art in class to represent the various aspects of conscious and subconscious thoughts gives students a way to express themselves without words and develop emotional awareness. The students are able to view their own art, analyze it, and understand more about themselves. Oftentimes, this gives students a sense of peace when they cannot recall specifics of their lives (Rodriguez-Cayro, 2018).
- Jubilee enhances emotional understanding and empathy through exercises designed to help students relate to one another and see the world from another person’s perspective. Using movement in conjunction with discussion allows students to more fully experience being in another person’s place and opens up opportunities to react to the emotions it brings up in a healthy way (Quiroga, 2010).
- Activities increase self-esteem, body confidence, and overall wellness, while decreasing anxiety and depression. Each activity is related to real events and thought processes that students experience everyday. Since many emotions and stressors are stored in our physical body, movement allows us to release the built-up stress and begin to understand it. Students are able to combat negative self-worth by seeing and experiencing the positive aspects of themselves through movement and then discussing how that affects their everyday life (Quiroga, 2010).
- Students gain clarity of situations through problem-solving activities. Activities serve as a reflection of students’ own lives and give them the opportunity to resolve conflicts, remove obstacles, and gain acceptance of themselves (Rodriguez-Cayro, 2018).
- Using art in class to represent the various aspects of conscious and unconscious thoughts gives students a way to express themselves without words and develop emotional awareness. The students are able to view their own art, analyze it, and understand more about themselves (Rodriguez-Cayro, 2018).
- Activities in class that involve creation (drawing, writing, choreographing, etc.) give power to students that leads to a greater sense of self-worth while also promoting creativity (Rodriguez-Cayro, 2018).
- Movement gives students a non-verbal way to connect with others and increases their understanding of the world. It builds social skills, communication, and awareness of things outside the self (Tortora, 2006). Activities encourage students to solve problems together.
- Using movement as the primary form of expression allows students to focus on the present moment, which increases happiness. Students are allowed to move freely which relates to free-thinking and increases memory-recall by opening mental pathways (Hill, 2006).
- Movement mirroring, repetition, and exploration helps students develop relationships with one another. Students begin to recognize movements and how they relate to the group, which eventually helps them understand social norms and communication patterns- things that are often lost with dementia (Adler, 2003).
- As students begin to understand how their body moves in space, they develop a greater sense of body awareness. This results in students learning how to make adjustments in their everyday life to account for their disabilities (Adler, 2003).
References
Quiroga Murcia, Cynthia & Kreutz, Gunter & Clift, Stephen & Bongard, Stephan. (2010). Shall we dance? An exploration of the perceived benefits of dancing on well-being. Arts & Health. 2. 149-163. 10.1080/17533010903488582.
Rodriguez-Cayro, K. (2018, January 17). 7 Mental Health Treatments To Try That Aren't Talk Therapy. Retrieved January 18, 2018, from https://www.bustle.com/p/7-mental-health-treatments-to-try-that-arent-talk-therapy-7793164
Adler, J. (2003). From Autism to the discipline of authentic movement. American Journal of Dance Therapy, 25(1), 5-16.
Tortora, S. (2006). The dancing dialogue: Using the communicative power of movement with young children. Baltimore: Brooks Publishing.
Hill, H. (2006) Dance therapy as person-centred care. In S.C. Koch and I. Braeuninger (Eds.), Advances in dance/movement therapy: Theoretical perspectives and empirical findings. Berlin Logos
Quiroga Murcia, Cynthia & Kreutz, Gunter & Clift, Stephen & Bongard, Stephan. (2010). Shall we dance? An exploration of the perceived benefits of dancing on well-being. Arts & Health. 2. 149-163. 10.1080/17533010903488582.
Rodriguez-Cayro, K. (2018, January 17). 7 Mental Health Treatments To Try That Aren't Talk Therapy. Retrieved January 18, 2018, from https://www.bustle.com/p/7-mental-health-treatments-to-try-that-arent-talk-therapy-7793164
Adler, J. (2003). From Autism to the discipline of authentic movement. American Journal of Dance Therapy, 25(1), 5-16.
Tortora, S. (2006). The dancing dialogue: Using the communicative power of movement with young children. Baltimore: Brooks Publishing.
Hill, H. (2006) Dance therapy as person-centred care. In S.C. Koch and I. Braeuninger (Eds.), Advances in dance/movement therapy: Theoretical perspectives and empirical findings. Berlin Logos