Dare to Dance, Dare to Thrive

http://dorycraze.wix.com/danceout

The Act, The Brain, The Magic

Intro
Sadness scurries in a little girl's heart when she is told that the dance program in
her middle school has been shut down for the upcoming school year. Hopelessness engulfs
a person with Parkinson's disease who is ready to give up because medicine is not enough.
Anger takes over a boy that had just started making C's because of his dance teacher, who
was the only one to believe in him. Dance is what is needed in all of these situations.
Dance provides this little girl an escape from her life in a refugee camp. Dance alleviates
the symptoms of a person with Parkinson's disease, which have symptoms of imbalance.
Dance improved this boys grades by increasing critical thinking when learning and
creating moves. Dance is a physical activity that helps people. When it is not available so
many things can go wrong. Why is dance so important? What are the benefits of watching
dance? What happens to the brain when a person dances? Dance should not be a choice, it
should be a necessity, especially in schools. Could you picture a world without dance?
The Act
Dance. If I asked you to picture dance, what would come to mind? You might picture a
beautiful ballerina, a person dressed in chill clothes break dancing, or maybe even a sorority
stepping. The last one is a bit of a stretch, but it could also be considered dance. Dance is about
expressing yourself through movement. There are also different types of dances and ways people
can really show how they are feeling or have felt. The dancers of the African Dance Company,
which is an African dance company that emphasizes there movements by how they feel, show

examples of how diverse dance can really be. The spectrum of dance goes from traditional
dancing all the way to modern and revamped dance forms like the walk- it out. I know from
experience, that many of the new dances are just the old dances added to new music. The point
of this is that dance is broad which gives people of all religions and ethnicities a way to come
together under a similar the umbrella of dance.
Dance can be done cross-culturally and can also connect cultures as well. It has been
dated far back to Shamans and Greeks. Greek philosophers even interpreted dance a certain way
as a method of helping and healing. Dances have different movements, and each movement in
some cases can really show certain emotions. This makes it special because it creates a unique
way to expressing yourself. Dance brings all denominations together and spreads emotion all
over the world. An example of how global dance can be, is the British Theatre Dance
Association. This association acknowledges that dance: transforms images, ideas and feelings
into sequences of movement that are personally and socially significant. In other words, this
says that there is more to dance than the act of dancing. Dance not only requires seeing and
feeling the movement but the mind of the person has to be in the right place as well.
Dancers must have a mindset to do great things, they must believe in themselves. Dance
teachers must learn to balance the art of dancing and the individual. Dan Hillen, who has been a
dancer for more than 35 years and taught dance to all age groups, urges teachers to use love
when teaching and think more positive than negative. Hillen dances primarily in the ballet form,
and she states: In my opinion, ballet prepares you to meet and pass any obstacle This
statement could also be argued because some teachers are very strict about the precision of
movements. Teenagers for instance may have a lower self-esteem if they cant get a certain
move. They may work hard and stress themselves out and feel that they are pushed to hard which

leads to them not believing in themselves. Critics believe this to be a con of certain dance forms
if the dance form is all that matters. Ashley Rivers, a dancer and writer in Boston, argues that
dance is needed to teach communication skills and developing ones inner self. I agree with her
because dancers must develop themselves to truly improve and appreciate what they have done.
Every human being is different which mean dance forms are going to be different. In certain
culture beats and hand movements may be used, wheras other cultures may focus on feet
movement and more modest ballroom type dance. Dance teachers really determine how to
maximize the effects of any kind of dance.
Dance and its effects have been studied more recently. One study which was done on the
ability to learn dance was the experiment done by Scott Grafton, a medical doctor. This study
looked at how participants learned and the brains reactions to watching versus doing dance. An
example of this is a study done at Bangor University. In this experiment, scientists video
recorded a professional dancer in a room. After recording certain moves, they scanned the
dancers brain while he was watching himself dance. They were interested in seeing the brain
activity. They are still in the process of connecting science and dance, but this just shows how
relevant studying the dance and the brain is. Overall, dance is more than just the movements;
there are inner processes that goes on as well, which we will explore more in the Brain section
of the website.
The Brain
Brains. We all have one. We all need one. We all know that we cant do anything in this
world without the brain playing some role. Well, dance is not left out of this myriad of activities
that the brain allows us to do. Dance and the brain work together and improve each other. This
particular section is focused only on the brain components that are affected by or affect dance.

The results of the processes of brain systems\ and neural connections will be discussed in depth
in the Magic portion of this website. It is often said that the brain is very complex, and you will
experience this even as it relates to dance movement.
Systems/ Lobes
The brain is like a company. A company has specific departments that specializ e and do
certain things. Each compartment has a hierarchy of specialized jobs, but they eventually link up
to make a company the best it can be. Dance is one of the products of specific jobs within the
company. Veronica Hakela, a dance, travel, and health writer, agrees by saying: Many regions
of the brain are required to remember, plan, and produce the coordinated movements that
enable us to dance to music and rhythm. This shows is that the brain is responsible for the
major needs of dancing. The next step is to determine what specific systems or lobes are used?
The cerebral cortex is the outer layer of the brain. This outer layer is the part of the brain
you usually see when looking at a regular brain image, and is characterized by many folds in the
brain. The cerebral cortex is the largest portion of the brain is. The cerebral cortex is divide into a
left and right hemisphere as well as specific lobes, These lobes include: Parietal, Frontal,
Temporal, and Occipital. These are lobes that directly help us dance and they will be my main
focus.
The main lobes involved in dancing when you watch and complete the movements are a
system known as the Action Observation network. This network is comprised of four brain
regions: the premotor cortex, the inferior parietal lobe, and the temporal regions. Scott Grafton
and Emily Cross, medical doctors, conducted an experiment whose results showed that both the
premotor and parietal parts of the brain were used the most out of these lobes. Although this

showed two specific regions that dance affects the brain, I wanted to know more specifically
what processes go on within different parts of the brain.
Dancing affects a lot of the brain because not only does it take brain power to move, but
it also takes time to create and visualize a dance movement. Andy Chumbley, the State director
of Washington state and choreographer, does a great job in explaining how certain parts of the
brain help develop dance. The occipital lobe for example, allows us to see a dance movement
and helps with processing and breaking down each movement. Can you picture yourself strictly
observing a dance form, looking at the count and sections of the movement? The parietal lobe, as
mentioned earlier allows one to become aware of how the body is moving in a set environment
and the space needed around the body to really perform. The frontal lobe helps with thinking and
justifying dance movements when we try to solve a problem and learn a movement the auditory
section of the brain is part of the temporal lobe is like the dancers temper, and it focuses on how
a dancer must maintain a specific emotion and rhythm while performing. Dance is not only a
form of exercise, but a form of creativity. Therefore, dance stimulates both hemispheres of the
brain concludes Chumbley. These are the main parts of the brain that allow one to dance. Next
I will talk about brain plasticity, and how certain parts of the brain can be responsible for certain
feelings.
Neurotransmitters and Neuroplasticity
The brain has so many lobes and systems that it needs messengers to connect them all. The
messengers of the brain are the neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters according to a Brain
wellness program are brain chemicals that communicate information throughout our brain and
body.. Serotonin and norepinephrine are two neurotransmitters that make a person feel good.
Adrenaline or epinephrine create a dancers high. Serotonin helps create mood stability and

balance the energy of other neurotransmitters like adrenaline. Norepinephrine is a transmitter

that calms the body, opposite epinephrine, also known as adrenaline that causes stress. Rachel
Hanson, a choreographer, agrees that certain neurotransmitters are excited, but she also
emphasizes the fact that some types of dances are responsible for certain reactions. Hanson
points out how a fast paced dance may increase the amount of endorphins released, while slow
dancing doesn't release as much. Neurotransmitters are still very important in dance, but the fact
that the brain can actually change is very key to the brains interaction.
The brain can bend and change and change and bend. It can repair and move and move
and repair. The brain is like plastic. It is a neuro kind of plastic. Neuroplasticity is one of the
major benefits dance has on the brain. Neuroplasticity is responsible for the reason the brain can
change and respond to new atmospheres, reactions, and repair itself. Dance creates new
connections, because you are using so many different parts of the brain. The ability of the brain
to change in general really creates a lot of great reactions. This is where the magic of combining
dance and brain some into action. Check out the Magic part of the brain in the next section to
explore more of the benefits.
The Magic
Dance is magical. Picture a Disney world dancer, dancing and singing to a song. Do you have the
picture? Dance provides many potions and spells to different aspects of your life. Here we will
discuss some of the benefits.
Memory
Certain parts of the brain like the cerebral cortex and hippocampus can move about more like
elastic and therefore create more neural connections. Neural connections are things that allow

certain senses to work like remembering a persons name. The brain must find the connection to
even speak it. As a person gets older their memory may fade, but scientists at Stanford
University believe that one way to decrease this would be to have more creative ways to use the
brain. These scientists further discuss how as people get older they stick to a pattern. Dance
definitely helps improve creativity especially when a person is learning the moves in a certain
way.
School Performance
Dance now becomes a form of learning, but why should dance become a form needed in schools
and society? Dance takes brain work whether you are doing it with a team or by yourself. Why is
dance not in school? Well some schools think they need more instruction time, even though
studies have shown that students who are active in some form of physical activity have done
better than those students that just go through the motion of school. According to Sirken
Robinson in Ted talks children may have been miss-identified with having special needs because
they were just dancers and he also says that dance is cut first during a budget crisis. Although
dance is not as important in schools as it should be, statistics show that the rate of obesity in
America alone could result in the parents outliving the children. Dance makes a healthy child,
and from this I can assume that a healthy child will definitely have better school performance.
Therapy
Dance is a therapy. Parkinsons patients were able to use boxing and a form of Latin dancing to
help with their symptoms and they felt a lot better. Dance has even been used as a therapy not
only for actual illnesses but also for children who have gone through trials. Amber Gray, the
author of Dance/M ovement therapy with refugees and survivor children: A Healing pathway is

a healing success. writes about how dance allowed children to become more susceptible to
therapy because the brain was changing and they could see things in different ways. In an
African dance video, the dancers talked about how the way you show pain cannot be simplified
into a movement. Dance slows children and adults to release their lasting feelings and create a
more positive atmosphere in their brain and in the world.
What now?
The act of dancing, the brain processes, and the magic of combining the act of dancing and the
brain have been discussed, but what now? Now we should share this information with educators
and policy makers. We should show them the facts that dance improves all age groups. We
should make a very high focus in schools because these children are the next generation. Dance
should be in the curriculum because as Sirken Robinson talked about, we are our entire body and
not just our heads. Dance as you have seen improves memory and school performance, as well as
provides a therapy for people who are sick. Dance shouldnt be a choice in school it could be
required. Kids need dance. I hope this makes you aware of the need.

Works Cited
Chumbley, Andy. "The Physiological Effects of Dance on the Brain." The Scientific Monthly 29.3
(1929): 285-87. Colorado Square Dance Association. Colorado State Square Dance
Association, 1929. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
Cooke. "Dancing Helps the Brain Function Better." Examined Existence. Examined Existence,
2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Dir. Alla Kovgan and Joan Frosch. Prod. Joan Frosch Movement (R)evolution Africa: A Story of
an Art Form in Four Acts. . Documentary Educational Resources (DER), 2008. Dance in
Video: Volume I. Web. 30 M ar. 2015.
Grafton, Scott, M .D, and Emily Cross, M S.Arts and Cognition Monograph: Dance and the Brain. The
Dana Foundation, M ar. 2008. Web. 08 M ar. 2015.
Gray, Amber Elizabeth. "Dance/M ovement Therapy With Refugee And Survivor Children: A Healing
Pathway Is A Creative Process. "Creative interventions with traumatized children (2nd ed.). 169190. New York, NY, US: Guilford Press, 2015. PsycINFO. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
Hanson, Rachel. "How Does Dancing Affect the M ind." LoveToKnow. LovetoKnow Corporation,
2006. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

Knox, Richard. "Fight Parkinson's: Exercise M ay Be The Best Therapy." NPR. NPR, 2 Feb. 2015.
Web. 08 M ar. 2015.
Powers, Richard. "Use It or Lose It: Dancing Makes You Smarter." Dancing Makes You Smarter. Standford
Dance, 30 July 2010. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

Reilly, Andrew. "Scientists M ap The Brain During Dancing." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 Feb. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2015

Robinson, Ken. "How Schools Kill Creativity." Ted. TED Conferences, LLC, Feb. 2006. Web. 21
Apr. 2015.
Skoning, Stacey. "Dancing the Curriculum." Taylor & Francis Online. Kappa Delta Record, 13
July 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Wong, Sam. "Ballet Dancers' Brains Adapt to Stop Them Feeling Dizzy."Imperial College
London. Imperial College London, 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 29 M ar. 2015.