Running head: THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 1 The Founding Mothers of Dance Movement Therapy Celia DeVoe PSYS 616: Foundations of Dance Movement Therapy Zoe Avstreih December 3 rd, 2012
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 2 Introduction The field of Dance Movement Therapy began because of the radical work of a few courageous women. With no empirical evidence to support their work, Marian Chace, Trudi Schoop, Blanche Evan and Mary Whitehouse, followed their hearts and intuition to help those suffering from a mind-body separation. According to Sharon Chaiklin, a student of Marian Chace, The mind-body is seen as a system that must function in ease and harmony. Disruptions of the flow and unity may indicate the presence of psychological and physical stress and conflict (1975, p. 701). It is this disruption, this blockage of the natural flow between mind and body that Dance Movement Therapists seek to address. Each of these women worked separately, finding different avenues to connect with their populations. There are some differences in the methodology however there are stronger similarities. These women approached their work with an intense compassion and respect for their clients. As humanists, they changed the vision and understanding of how to work with psychosis. They all saw the individual rather than the illness and used creative dance as a way to communicate what was so difficult to verbally express. As Chaiklin expressed, Dance is a language that uses the totality of body-mind-spirit to relate to the most profound experiences, painful and joyous, to those who would observe or share in the experience (1975, p. 701). Marian Chace, Trudi Schoop, Blanche Evan and Mary Whitehouse were the first women to want to hear and share these experiences so that healing on a truly humanistic level could begin. The Grande Dame Marian Chace (1896-1970) is known as the Grande Dame of Dance Therapy for her profound and radical work in state institutions. As a dedicated performer, teacher, and choreographer Chace recognized that dance was a true form of communication. In 1950, Marian
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 3 Chace stopped teaching and devoted her time to working as the Dance Therapist at St. Elizabeth s Hospital in NYC. It was here that Chace witnessed the profound healing powers of dance. What Neuroscience can now prove empirically, Marian Chace knew on an intuitive level. She understood that the art of dance expresses them many needs of human communication. As social beings, we cannot survive in isolation. Marian Chace recognized the severely isolated worlds of her clients and instinctively knew to meet them exactly where they were. Chace foresaw that forcing them to meet in her world could drive them into deeper isolation. Marian Chace was a humanist and believed strongly in working with the healthy parts of a client. She respected her clients and focused on the sparks of life, rather than the symptoms or disorder. She worked with the individual, letting the client be seen and heard so that communication and relationships could grow. Through such relationships, Marian Chace knew that healing would begin. For this reason, Marian Chace worked primarily with groups. By bringing people together and sharing universal themes of joy and suffering, the clients would begin to feel a sense of belonging. By using a highly structured format, Marian Chace provided a safe container for the clients to connect with themselves, with Chace and with the whole group. Once this safe space was created, Marian Chace believed that through movement, the unconscious might start to reveal itself. Sharon Chaiklin wrote on the American Dance Therapy Association website Chace offered dignity and compassion in surroundings bereft of such. Her intuitive trust of the body and its expression in movement led to a way of thinking that evolved into structures that could be taught to others. She was a woman of conviction and courage (n.d.). Chace s theory and structure include the following elements: Body Action, Symbolism, Therapeutic Movement Relationship and Group Rhythmic Movement Relationship (Levy, 2005).
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 4 Through Body Action, clients are able to relax and stimulate emotional experiences. Marian believed a rigid body was one holding many thoughts, ideas and feelings. By moving, clients are able to reconnect with these sensations. Body Action was used in part during the Warm Up. This was a crucial moment for Marian to meet and greet all the clients and connect with each one personally. As the group progresses, symbolism can be used to connect with memories or fantasies further providing creativity in the body- mind connection. The Therapeutic Movement Relationship focuses on the interaction between therapist and client. This is established during the Warm Up, as well as throughout the larger arc of therapy. Mirroring and reflection can be used to create empathy and emotional acceptance. This is was unique and key feature of Marian Chace s work. She first connected with her clients on a deep and empathetic level so that they could feel real communication and hopefully bring that into the larger group. Lastly, Group Rhythmic Movement Relationship happened when the group came together in a circle to provide social interaction. This organized structure provided a safe container for all to be seen and heard. Rhythm is an important part of this container, which can be used to motivate a rising or calming of energy. This allows for a deepening of thematic work as well as a time for processing. Rhythm in Synchrony is important for social interactions with others and can indicate a willingness or readiness to interact. The use of rhythm facilitates an organization of life energy for work, play and communication (Westbrook and Sing, 1988, p. 41). Using Humor and Fantasy Working at the same time, but on the opposite coast was Trudi Schoop (1904-1999). Known for her use of humor and playfulness, Schoop in many ways was working parallel to Marian Chace. A trained dancer and mime, Trudi Schoop was fascinated by the human
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 5 experience, especially that of internal conflict. She believed strongly that all suffering was rooted in such conflict and her work was to help harmonize it. Her intention is stated in this statement taken from Schoop s book Won t You Join the Dance. I feel that it is most significant how our bodies are carried- how we stand on this earth. I believe that a person s body-design should ideally represent his affirmations of being, reflect the highest form of functional existence, realize a neutral, alert attitude from which he can easily act and react. It should indicate a free, adaptable body that is capable of choice and decision, a body with a point of view. (1974, p. 85) Similar to Marian Chace, Trudi Schoop worked with clients who were in chronic and extreme mental states. Like all the pioneers of this field, Trudi Schoop felt that the mind and body were inseparable and dance provided a platform to bring the two sides together. Her theatrical background made Schoop a unique and animated therapist. By behaving as and accepting herself entirely, she modeled a path for her clients to embody all their parts, both the healthy and the disorganized. Like Chace on the East coast, Trudi Schoop used a structured and direct approach to her group therapy sessions. The arc of a session contained a beginning, middle and end, which further provided a sense of safety and continuity. An important difference between these pioneers was that Marion Chace allowed themes to arise from the group; however, Trudi was more suggestive, direct and involved regarding the issues the group would be working with. Trudi Schoop s methodology included an Educational Approach, Rhythm and Repetition, Internal Fantasy and Improvisation (Levy, 2005). Her Educational Approach focused on body awareness and posture. Helping her clients to recognize their postural habits and internal sensations provided a way for them to realize and externalize their inner worlds. Trudi Schoop
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 6 encouraged proper body use, meaning embodiment so that the internal and external expression felt congruent. Rhythm and Repetition used in combination with Improvisation allowed clients to feel the inner and outer rhythms of life. By spending some time with the movement and rhythm, clients were able to deepen the experience and sequence through the emotion or state. Trudi Schoop helped her clients create mini performances in which they were further able to own and develop their sequences. This provided a platform to then share with the community their personal experience. Schoop believed that Expressive Movement was a way to experience and explore not only the day-to-day life but to deepen universal connections as well. She felt a strong connection to nature and animals and helped her clients relate to the larger world (J. Ashley, personal communication, November 28, 2012). Trudi Schoop, like Chace, highly respected her clients and the fantasies they inhabited. Often she would soar with them, but eventually help navigate back to a grounded and safe place. Trudi Schoop was a compassionate, loving and present woman who shared her joy and love of life so that others could feel the same sensations, no matter the world they inhabited. Working with the Neurotic Urban Adult Blanche Evan (1909-1982) was another pioneer of Dance Therapy working on the East Coast. She was highly interested and influenced by adults living in urban neighborhoods. Unlike Marian Chace who worked with clients in extreme states, Blance Evan focused on the Normal Functioning Neurotic, who behaved as such because of the concrete isolation enforced by their environment. A student of Alderian psychology, Blanche Evan felt that the normal neurotic often repressed feelings of aggression and anger (Levy, 2005). These feelings were then held in the body in forms of tension and fatigue. Evan believed that through dance, such feelings
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 7 would not only be expressed but the client would learn to cope with them in the future. She believed firmly that Dance Therapy was important for all and not only the emotionally disturbed. According to Blanche Evan, Dance Therapy leads to unraveling the knots, to diagnosis and to activate the life, brain and habit change (Levy, 2005, p. 30). Her theory highlights that dance is an art form, which utilizes the most direct and complete connection to the psyche. Dance is an ego function therefore allowing a direct communication of and with the self. Evan believed that the psyche and soma working together could express what had been repressed similar to Chace s theory that the unconscious could be revealed through movement (Levy, 2005). Working with adult neurotics was a very different undertaking than working with people in extreme states. Although she sometimes worked in groups, Evan tended to work one on one with clients, providing a safe but loose structure for processing. Blanche Evan often focused on the hands, face and voice as they were the hardest places and aspects of the body to release. By encouraging relaxation, Evan hoped to encourage a reeducation of physical and emotional needs that were repressed by family and society (Levy, 2005). According to Susan Aposhyan, As humans, we have to unlearn the inhibiting of our responsiveness (1999, p. 35). I know from personal experience, growing up in an urban environment can cause a silencing of voice and needs because it is challenging to be heard. We inhibit our own voices and needs to survive in competitive and isolating environments. Like Chace and Schoop, Blanche Evan worked with the whole person and not just the disorganized parts. This was a crucial approach for all Dance Therapists, so that the healing was a re-joining of all pieces, rather than a fixing of the bad parts. Blanche Evan used a looser structure than that of Chace and Schoop. Her use of interventions included the Warm up, System of Functional Technique, Improvisation/Enactment, and verbalization of thoughts and feelings
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 8 (Levy, 2005). Like Chace and Schoop, the warm up focused on bringing clients into contact with their body and internal sensations. It was a way to release some superficial tension so that the body was prepared to dive into a deeper internal exploration. Her System of Functional Technique focused on rehabilitation and education of the anatomy including postural work, coordination and rhythm (Levy, 2005). Much of Blanche Evan s legacy is based on her Projective techniques in Improvisation where clients were able to explore their inner emotional landscapes by using imagery and visualizations (Levy, 2005). This technique was a form of free association, where seemingly unrelated thoughts and emotions would arise, potentially providing new connections and awareness. Much of the therapeutic session was structured around the improvisation of the client, while Blanche witnessed. Her role as a physically less involved witness was strongly different from the high physical involvement of both Chace and Schoop. Because Evan was working with high functioning clients who required less physical interaction, she was able to act as a witness while still providing a safe container. Blanche Evan provided verbal directives and reflections, while Marian Chace used nonverbal communication more heavily. When guiding clients through Improvisations, Blanche Evan believed that repressed memories would begin to surface. By sequencing these emotions and memories through movement, the client is able to bring them to full consciousness. Once aware of these memories or repressed feelings, clients would find a new understanding and relief from their suffering. The Birth of Authentic Movement Mary Whitehouse (1911-1979) worked on the West Coast as well and is the founder of Authentic Movement. As a student of Mary Wigman, she believed spontaneous movement may be used to recognize the symbolic nature of communication. This symbolism and
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 9 communication would then open the door for self-awareness and change (Levy, 2005). As a student of Carl Jung, Mary Whitehouse was extremely interested and invested in symbolism and meaning. Similar to all the founders, Mary Whitehouse worked both one on one and in groups, however like Evan; her population was composed of high functioning clients. She believed that working with high functioning clients allowed for a deeper connection to unconscious material, which she was highly drawn to as a Jungian student. High functioning clients also allowed Mary to focus more on the psychoanalytic aspect rather than providing therapeutic direction. As Mary Whitehouse became more invested in self-expression, she began to question the use of the word dance as she felt it implied a finished product. She felt that creative, spontaneous movement could never be replicated with the same emotions and depth and therefore she coined the term movement-in-depth which she felt more accurately described therapeutic self-expression (Levy, 2005). Mary Whitehouse s theoretical model, influenced highly by her work with Mary Wigman and Jungian analysis, includes Kinesthetic Awareness, Polarity, Active Imagination, Authentic Movement and the Therapeutic Relationship and Intuition (Levy, 2005). Kinesthetic Awareness or a person s internal sense of self is an aspect that Mary Whitehouse worked to awaken and develop. She believed awareness was crucial to connect with internal experience and identity. Mary Whitehouse s focus on Kinesthetic Awareness was less about external postures and releasing tension, like Schoop and Evan s work, but more focused on how and why a person responds to the world around them. Becoming aware of internal movements and sensations in response to external changes provided a door to unconscious responses.
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 10 Polarity was a way to explore opposing sides, which are inherent in life. Mary Whitehouse used movement to expose and release such tension or conflict as she did not believe everything needed to be seen in black or white terms. Active Imagination is a form of Jungian free association. By providing a safe container, Mary Whitehouse believed Active Imagination facilitated a release of repressed unconscious material. This process allowed the individual unconscious to connect with the collective and universal unconscious providing a sense of unity. Like Blanche Evan, Mary Whitehouse often embodied the witness role for her clients offering reflections and verbal directives to deepen the improvisation. Authentic Movement is the most genuine, personal form of self-expression when truly achieved and is crucial if Active Imagination is to flourish. To move authentically is to be moved by the body or some deep inner impulse. This is in contrast to movement based on choice. In Authentic Movement, the mover has no choice but to allow the unconscious to speak. The mover must surrender and yield to its internal rhythms and voice. In this way, the mover themselves becomes the witness. It was Mary Whitehouse s hope that her clients may find a balance between surrendering to and controlling their experience (Levy, 2005). The Therapeutic Relationship/Intuition was extremely important to Mary Whitehouse as it was to Chace, Schoop and Evan. She believed that her role shifted depending on the client and the nature of the session. As a model for her clients, she trusted her intuition so that they learned how to trust their own intuition and internal impulses. Mary Whitehouse knew the importance of meeting her client where they were and not forcing them to begin in a place they were not prepared to be.
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 11 Conclusion Learning the history of Dance Movement Therapy as well as the theories and methodology of its founders has provided a strong foundation for the career ahead of me. Understanding some of the basic interventions such spatial (circles, partners), rhythmic and structural (beginning, middle, end) aspects provide tangible skills to what sometimes feels open ended. Regardless of the population(s) I choose to work with, I see that structure; whether loose or more defined provide safety for the group. In all classes this semester, we have highlighted the importance of safety within therapy. Much of this safety is provided by the therapeutic relationship, however within groups, structure provides further support and continuity. Rhythm is another piece that helps contain the experience. As a mover, I enjoy expressing myself in silence, however I have come to recognize that silence may be potentially dangerous or scary for clients. Silence does not provide any sense of grounding, unless we have an audible breath. Starting with music that provides a strong downbeat feels like an important place to begin as clients become aware of their bodies and make contact. In terms of involvement, I see myself working closer to Marian Chace and Trudi Schoop. A strong part of my person needs to be directly involved in the therapeutic relationship. I want to interact and connect with each client on a deep and personal level. Depending on the population or client, I can understand how less involvement may be effective and this is quality is one I need to foster. Coming from such a large movement background, I feel more inclined to work nonverbally, however cultivating my verbal skills is important as well so that I can adapt and work with a variety of clients. The use of props is an aspect that I intend to utilize in the future. It is clear that they can be used in a plethora of ways such as to bring clients into contact
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 12 with one another or to help express themselves through Projective Improvisation. With children, props are a safe and potentially more accessible way to express their feelings and needs. Although I have had minimal experience with Authentic Movement, I have felt the profound power behind it, and I look forward to exploring it more deeply. This type of work is something I may be interested in, especially should I decide to seek more psychoanalytical education, however for the time being, I see this technique as something for myself. It is a way for me to deepen my own internal exploration and awareness, so that I may be a role model for my clients. As all of these founding women were so embodied and accepting of themselves, I hope to be present and available in such a way for my clients in the future. These women were and continue to be an inspiration and model and I hope someday to be as courageous and radical in my interventions and therapeutic processes.
THE FOUNDING MOTHERS OF DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY 13 References Aposhyan, S. (1999). Natural intelligence: body-mind integration and human development. Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins. Chaiklin, S. Marian Chace: Dancer & Pioneer Dance Therapist. (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://www.adta.org/default.aspx?pageid=406847. Chaiklin, S. (1975). Dance therapy. The American Handbook of Psychiatry. 5, 701-720. Levy, F. (2005). Dance movement therapy: A healing art. Reston, VA: The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. Schoop, T. & Mitchell, P. (1974). Won t you join the dance?: A dancer s essay into the treatment of psychosis. Palo Alto, CA. Nation Press Brooks. Westbrook, B. & Sing, M. (1988). A Psychiatric movement assessment scale with developmental considerations. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 15, 37-46.