When I originally started this class, I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do. I knew it would probably end up relating to dance, because that’s most of my personality, but I wasn’t sure what avenue exactly to take. Dance can be woven into literally any topic– everything has something that can be related to dance. So, although I had a topic, I was still in a very broad category. There was an activity we did where we listed things we know or love, and I ended up seeing psychology quite often. This was back when I thought I might go into psychology after dance. From that, I researched Dance Movement Therapy, a kind of therapy that uses movement to help dancers. It’s an incredible field of therapy that’s not often talked about. Learning more about it made me want to do something with movement therapy– there are so many dancers that could benefit from it.

The issue with Dance Movement Therapy is that it’s a very intense practice. Becoming a Dance Movement Therapist requires a PhD, for starters, clinical hours, dance and psychology degrees, and generally a lot of experience. Beyond that, there’s not much on the internet about the exact methods they use to help dancers– because so much education is required. So, doing anything related to processes of Dance Movement Therapy was out. There are also no Dance Movement Therapists in upstate NY, at least that I found. So talking to one to learn more, or doing some kind of talk with one, was also out of the question.

I had to pivot. Luckily, Dance Movement Therapy’s less intense cousin is therapeutic dance, which anyone can practice, and that carries similar benefits and core ideas to Dance Movement Therapy. Therapeutic dance techniques are also widely known and talked about. I was able to find many studies talking about the methods. In this research, I read several studies about therapeutic dance and body image issues, and that link drew me in. The studies I read all talked about slightly different methods for dancers and dance teachers. There isn’t really a master document that has all of the information– and that became the basis of my project. There should be a way that dance teachers, even with no knowledge or training in therapeutic dance, can help their dancers with body image. A website, or some sort of knowledge bank, would be the obvious answer. But it’s hard to get that out publicly. So I decided to give a presentation to as many dance teachers as I could. 

The first step of this was putting together the presentation. I had some methods from the studies, but I needed more, and I needed ways to corroborate the methods. I was lucky enough to be connected to 3 amazing contacts, who helped provide me with the majority of the methods I eventually used in the presentation. Their information was just what I needed, and I am incredibly grateful to have been able to incorporate their experiences. I had difficulty in finding a time and place to give the presentation, especially because of the timing, but my mom was able to help me out there, and set me up in LeMoyne College’s Grewen Auditorium. I also had difficulty getting people to come, but thanks to a tip from one of my Capstone peers, I was able to reach more dance teachers than I’d hoped. Those two experiences taught me that it’s okay to ask for help and support, especially if there isn’t much where you thought it’d be. Someone else might have an answer that could prove more useful. The presentation itself was a success, too. I’m incredibly proud of the final product, and I know it made a difference to the teachers watching. I became more resilient and creative when coming up with solutions, and I discovered how fulfilling it is to see a project like this come to a close. I’ll keep those lessons close as my life goes on.