Enthousiasm of beginner.
I wrote everything down.
Initial plan.
What happened.
Everything.
I will not do this with every session. I guess in the beginning everybody is enthousiast and writes everything down. However is impossible. And not necessary.
Well. Here I explain my first session with people that come for a day treatment with the diganosis of deppression.
It is an open group, so they come if they feel like it. During the first two weeks I already met some of them, we played tennis together, went shopping and cooked, and painted and chatted in the atelier.
So I already talked about dance therapy with them and tried to persuade them to come to try.
My initial plan
Circles warm up:
Warm up the body in circles, doing circles in different articulations. Asking them which other body parts can do round movements.
–> attention towards the body, phisical engagement, stop thinking.
Karate walking:
Punching in the air. 1, 2, 3, steps and strong shout.
—> Grounding, use of voice, breathing and movement connection, strenght feeling
Skipping exercise:
Make yourself very sad, try to feel very sad and walk around very slowly. Keep the feeling and go a little bit faster. Keep the feeling. Hold to it. Walk faster. Anf faster, and faster.
–> show the connection between body and emotions. It is impossible to keep saf when one is using a lot of energy. The sadness becomes either anger or joy.
ABC:
Three points in the space and think of a moment in your life when you felt strong. Find three movements.
–> Movement exploration, connection to their past and future lives.
What it turned out to happen
I had only male participants in the session!
The karate walk felt good, and I asked them to really push their feet to the ground.
I also incorporate the Space& Rhythm exercise with clapping where they could lead when they wanted. (IMPROVISED!)
For improvising instead of in a circle we stood in two lines, face to face, and did a bit of mirroring.
ABC was a catastroph!
To ask them to think and then to move was not a good idea.We are already quite stuck in our minds in everyday life so to ask them to THINK was definitely not a good idea.
When I saw the sudden immobility I change the idea.
We have to move and then reflect, not think and then move.
DOWN UP instead of TOP- DOWN.
I ask them simply movements. In the A: Strong movement. In the B: Open. In the C: Smaller.
This worked much better. They created movements. Without thinking.
_________________
This was the session. My first one.
Now looking backwards I see that there was no clear focus, no clear objective and no clear resolution. It was a bit copypaste of things. My sessions now are bit better.
I have a lot to learn!
At least this can be an example of a reality of our profession as dance therapist:
YOUR PLAN – UNEXPECTED REACTIONS – IMPROVISATION – RECONSIDERATION = BEING in the PRESENT MOMENT.
Well this is what happens in therapy.
You have a plan. Or not.
And then you have to improvise
Be in the moment.
And that is why I love it so much.
i move i am 