Title

African American Adolescents at Risk: Their Stories Revealed Through Dance/Movement Therapy

Author

Alicia Marie Williams, Columbia College - Chicago

Date of Award

12-17-2010

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Art in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling (MA)

Department

Creative Arts Therapies

First Advisor

Brown, Andrea

Keywords

African American teenagers

Abstract

The purpose ofthis study was originally to support the voices of African American adolescents and the emergence of their stories through the use of mentors hip, dance/movement therapy, and the production of an artistic performance. But what I truly found was that through parallel processing this study turned into an artistic inquiry that helped me uncover more insight about my own story: a story ofloss, isolation, rejection, recovery, independence, support and acceptance, and confidence.

As a result of the artistic inquiry I was able to see the value of my knowledge from integrating my experiences. I developed confidence in my ability to transition from my role as teacher/mentor to dance/movement therapist. It helped me to increase awareness of how I incorporate my past experiences, skills, and world view to become a better therapist utilizing dance/movement therapy to facilitate the authentic expression of African American adolescents. I facilitated the perfornlance of their movement stories which were presented to their families and communities.

Comments

Includes video.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Williams, Alicia Marie, "African American Adolescents at Risk: Their Stories Revealed Through Dance/Movement Therapy" (2010). Creative Arts Therapies Theses. 9.
https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/theses_dmt/9