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Dance/movement therapy: learning to use dance to help others.

Article Excerpt
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In 1993, I was a New York City-based modern dancer in my 30s thinking about my next steps in life. My body hurt, I had little money, no savings, and was working several jobs to support myself. I had graduated from Purchase College in 1985 and went on to perform with Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians for the next nine years. I was also developing work with other downtown choreographers. But I was at a point in my life where I was searching for something else. I had lost close friends to AIDS. And while I found my work as a dancer rewarding, I was going through a crisis of meaning and purpose.

At the time, I hadn't heard of dance/movement therapy (D/MT). I had a vague idea that I wanted to help people, but I had yet to learn about the field. I would come to realize that D/MT capitalizes on the mind/body connection through the use of movement as a healing modality. In the last 25 years, D/MT has exploded in popularity both in the United States and around the world. More courses than ever are being offered at both graduate and undergraduate levels.

While still dancing, I had begun preparing for a transition, studying yoga...

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