Date of Award
5-13-2011
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Art in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling (MA)
Department
Creative Arts Therapies
First Advisor
Allen, Laura
Keywords
tap dancing, residential treatment
Abstract
This thesis project was inspired by this researcher’s passion and interest in rhythm and more specifically tap dance. There is currently no literature on the use of tap dance in dance/movement therapy. The project was guided by the research question: How can tap dance be used as a dance/movement therapy (DMT) technique? By combining tap dance and dance/movement therapy the purpose of this thesis is to provide the DMT community (clients and dance therapists) with more knowledge and tools to use for facilitation and to further deepen the process in DMT sessions. The research will be presented in a clinical case study, with data collected from 10 weeks of sessions with two participants. The data takes the form of clinical notes and personal journal entries. Results show that the tap dance based DMT group helped to create group cohesion, a strong therapeutic relationship between therapist and clients, courage and self-expression. The clinical work was presented in a tap dance performance at an annual residential talent showcase.
Creative Commons License
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Recommended Citation
D’Aurio, Alexandria, "Finding the Rhythm in Dance/Movement Therapy: The Use of Tap Dance in Residential Treatment" (2011). Creative Arts Therapies Theses. 6.
https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/theses_dmt/6