Dance only had been related pleasure of superstition. In the 14th century, it was categorized under ascetic Christianity. However, now there are some people who look at dance in a new wey. Make attention in now paid to the healing power of dance.

What is Dance?
    The definition if dance if different according to a culture. Also, it has many styles. Despite the differences, it clearly has one thing in common. Most dances involve movements. People cerate dances through their body movements. A series of movements is a dance when they are in harmony with rhythm.

The Origin of Dance
    Nobody knows clearly when and where dance became a part of human culture. You can think dance is as old human life. We can find a dance in Indian or Egyptian tomb painting as early as 3300 BC. Early dance is deeply related to ceremony or rituals. People mainly danced at religious ceremonies in ancient times. In his book, <The Meaning of Art>, Herbert Read said. "The only purpose of primeval art is worship and laying revengeful spirits."

What Did Dance Do in history?
    Dance has carried many functions since it began. It has played a big part in ceremonies, rituals, celebrations, and entertainment. It was also used as a way of telling stories from generation to generation before the birth of written language. We have found early dances were incorporated in the telling of myths. Dances were ways of showing one's feeling to the opposite gender in the myths. People communicated with others by dancing. Nowadays, experts have rediscovered the power of these various functions. What is highly regarded one?

The Healing Power of Dance
    Generally, people believed in the power of dance as a method to remove bodily sickness. If you heard someone recovered from a disease through a dance, you would typically think of a shaman or some type of ancient healing ceremony. Many contemporary studies really heals the mind and body from disease.

How is Dance Related to The Body and Mind?
    Our minds and bodies are affected by movement. Movement raises our heart beat, blood pressure, respiration, and blood sugar. For these changes, autonomic nerves are working in muscle and internal organs. Also it stimulates the indirect secretion of adrenalin. The body divides into a movement controller and works in conjunction with the limbic system which controls feelings. However these organs affect each other through interactions. Schilder says, "All feeling is shown through body movement and related with all change of body." Dance can also cure mental disease.

Anna Recovered from Cancer by Dancing
    Anna Halprin was a famous dancer; performing everything from ballet to modern dance. She suddenly left the stage. When she was in her forties, she was faced with death. She was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 1972. Even though she had a surgery, it recurred. However, during a personal cure performance, she felt that cancer was healed. After that experience, she has helped patients heal through dance.

Healing Diseases from Parkinson Syndrome to Falling
    How many kinds of diseases can be healed through dancing? Parkinson syndrome is one of these diseases. Researchers in Washington found the "Tango effect" in 2008. Patients' capacity for locomotion rose, when they were treated with Tango. "Chachacha" and "Waltz" have been found to cure mental disease. Cheerful rhythms and body movements help patients to obtain a positive thinking. It also helps to overcome mental depression, too. Meanwhile, dance can prevent old men from falling. Korean traditional dance is helpful in maintaining physical balance. It will help to raise quickness and sense of balance. Like this, dance therapy helps, to heal people's minds and Like this, dance therapy helpy to heal people's minds and enhance our bodues' capacities for movement.

Art Therapy Will Take a Center Stage
    Dance therapy is a kind of art therapy. After many studies showed that art therapy's effect is scientific, people have paid attention to such therapies as art, music, and dance. It can improve patient's condition without medication. Also it sometimes treats the disease which contemporary medical sciences can't cure. Art therapy will have a big rule in medical sciences soon.

Look at the Other Art Therapy. Music therapy
    Music therapy has also been a success. Music therapy maintains our body health and relieves our minds. According to many studies, it's scientifically proven. For example, music can change brain activity level; it can slow the brain down or speed it up. And surprisingly, this change lasts for a while, after we stop listening to music

Art therapy
    This therapy uses the creative process of creating art to improve our Physical, mental, or emotional states, Self-pression enables patients to free themselves from problems they are hiding. And it is one of the most useful ways to handle people who are not fluent in communication. You can easily see this therapy in the media when psychiatrists help autistic children. Doctors can diagnose them through looking at their drawings.

Meet a Motion-therapist, Han Ji-young.
    Han Ji-young works as a representative in Healing Motion, psychology health center. She treats people's minds and help people to relieve stress through dance.

Q : What is dance therapy?
A : One's breathing, position, and movements show one's mind and feeling. By using body movement, we can handle problems more easily. symbolic motion, or self healing can help trauma in body-related memory.

Q : How can motion therapy help us?
A : It is not true clumsy people have psychology problems. However, people with character or psychology problems have weird breathing patterns, movements, and positioning. Through these movements, we can cure mind problems and can have more comfortable minds.

Q : Why did you get a job as a motion-therapist?
A : I learned about ballet, hip-hop dance, swing, and modem dance. Though dancing, I witnessed my character problems cure and my social relationships improve. Other people around me had similar experiences. I found a relation between dance and psychology. I found dance-therapy on google. Afterwards, I worked in dance-therapy class as an assistant. Also I entered a graduate school for dance movement therapy. Now I have been running my center for 13 years.

Q : Have you met any impressive patient?
A : There was a woman under heavy stress from her husband's family. They abused her. Husband didn't support her. She felt isolated. She had extremely low self-esteem. She suffered from mental depression. She always talked at a low volume. After she used motion-therapy for three months, she found a balance in mind and body. She also tried hard to improve her relationships through different communication style. Finally she found what she really wanted and went for it.

Q : Who need help from motion therapy?
A : Above all, people who don't sleep well. People who have insomnia can benefit from motion therapy.

By   Kim Su-ji CP Cub Reporter
ex11235@cnu.ac.kr