Dancing for Health: Conquering and Preventing Stress

by Judith Lynne Hanna University of Maryland

Overview

Throughout history and in contemporary times, people worldwide have danced to cope with the stresses of life. But how has dance helped people resist, reduce, and escape stress? What is it about dance that makes it a healing art? What insights can we gain from learning about others' use of dance across cultures and eras? Dancing for Health addresses these questions and explains the cognitive, emotional and physical dimensions of dance in a spectrum of stress management approaches.

Designed for anyone interested in health and healing, Dancing for Health offers lessons learned from the experiences of people of different cultures and historical periods, as well as current knowledge, on how to resist, reduce, and dance away stress in the disquieting times of the 21st century. Anthropologists and psychologists will benefit from the unique theoretical and ethnographic analysis of how dance affects communities and individuals, while dancers and therapists will take away practical lessons on improving their and their patients' quality of life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759108592
Publisher:	AltaMira Press
Publication date:	07/20/2006
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	7.08(w) x 8.94(h) x 0.66(d)

About the Author

Judith Lynne Hanna (Ph.D., Columbia University) is a senior research scholar in the Department of Dance at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Table of Contents

Part 1 I. Setting the Stage Chapter 2 Prelude Chapter 3 1. Evolution's Gifts Chapter 4 2. Dance-Stress Coupling Part 5 II. Historical and Non-Western Dance-Stress Relations Chapter 6 3. Meeting the Gods and Demons Chapter 7 4. Shaking Off Poison, Plague, Death, and Sin Chapter 8 5. Coming to Terms with Life Crises Chapter 9 6. Resolving Conflict Chapter 10 7. Revitalizing the Past and Facing the Future Part 11 III. Western Dance-Stress Relations Chapter 12 8. "Playing" Onstage in Western Theatrical Dance Chapter 13 9. A Dance Career in the West Chapter 14 10. Amateur Dancing in the West Chapter 15 11. Dance/Movement Therapy Chapter 16 Finale: Dance and Stress Resistance, Reduction, and Euphoria

Editorial Reviews

In an impressive, descriptive way Hanna elaborates that dance is a communication that we cannot express through words, a venue for storytelling while involved in a commonly accepted form of therapy…. Hanna's book presents a new and interesting perspective on how dance can be therapeutic and help relieve the stress response…. I strongly recommend this book to everyone, dance professional or amateur, including those with an interest in the health aspects of dance.

Movement and Dance In Psychotherapy Body

Hanna draws on her own experiences as a life-long student of dance, on anthropological research, and on her worldwide travels to demonstrate the role of dance as a healing art for all kinds of stress. Divided into three sections—"Setting the Stage," "Historical and Non-Western Dance-Stress Relations," and "Western Dance-Stress Relations"—the book's 11 chapters explore dance as art, as entertainment, as therapeutic exercise, and as a competitive discipline. The author describes how numerous cultures have employed dance to deal with life crises, resolve conflicts, revitalize the past, and face the future. She also details the many physical and emotional pitfalls dancers encounter, for example issues surrounding body image. This well-written book will interest a broad audience, including health researchers, therapists, psychologists, dancers, and anthropologists.

Choice Reviews

Dance, that double edged sword, ought to come with a warning label. Now it has one at last — Dr. Judith Hanna's book. It helps you explore dance, whether you see it as high art or sexy entertainment, whether you use it as therapeutic exercise or competitive discipline. Dr. Hanna understands it as only someone can who loves it as a fan, who practices it as a student, and who researches it as a scholar. To share her insights, she keeps the prose perky and the concepts clear.

George Jackson

Hanna, with her unique vision as a dancer and anthropologist, has written a wonderfully comprehensive book illuminating the interplay between dance and stress. By offering a cross-cultural perspective, she deftly describes dance across the world as both a strategy to communicate and relieve stress as well as a potential cause of stress to the performer and observer.

Ginny Wilmerding

Hanna draws on her own experiences as a life-long student of dance, on anthropological research, and on her worldwide travels to demonstrate the role of dance as a healing art for all kinds of stress. Divided into three sections—"Setting the Stage," "Historical and Non-Western Dance-Stress Relations," and "Western Dance-Stress Relations"—the book's 11 chapters explore dance as art, as entertainment, as therapeutic exercise, and as a competitive discipline. The author describes how numerous cultures have employed dance to deal with life crises, resolve conflicts, revitalize the past, and face the future. She also details the many physical and emotional pitfalls dancers encounter, for example issues surrounding body image. This well-written book will interest a broad audience, including health researchers, therapists, psychologists, dancers, and anthropologists.

Choice

Hanna, with her unique vision as a dancer and anthropologist, has written a wonderfully comprehensive book illuminating the interplay between dance and stress. By offering a cross-cultural perspective, she deftly describes dance across the world as both a strategy to communicate and relieve stress as well as a potential cause of stress to the performer and observer.--Ginny Wilmerding, President, International Association for Dance Medicine & Science

Dance, that double edged sword, ought to come with a warning label. Now it has one at last -- Dr. Judith Hanna's book. It helps you explore dance, whether you see it as high art or sexy entertainment, whether you use it as therapeutic exercise or competitive discipline. Dr. Hanna understands it as only someone can who loves it as a fan, who practices it as a student, and who researches it as a scholar. To share her insights, she keeps the prose perky and the concepts clear.--George Jackson, dance critic and historian

Hanna draws on her own experiences as a life-long student of dance, on anthropological research, and on her worldwide travels to demonstrate the role of dance as a healing art for all kinds of stress. Divided into three sections--"Setting the Stage," "Historical and Non-Western Dance-Stress Relations," and "Western Dance-Stress Relations"--the book's 11 chapters explore dance as art, as entertainment, as therapeutic exercise, and as a competitive discipline. The author describes how numerous cultures have employed dance to deal with life crises, resolve conflicts, revitalize the past, and face the future. She also details the many physical and emotional pitfalls dancers encounter, for example issues surrounding body image. This well-written book will interest a broad audience, including health researchers, therapists, psychologists, dancers, and anthropologists.--CHOICE

From the Publisher

Hanna draws on her own experiences as a life-long student of dance, on anthropological research, and on her worldwide travels to demonstrate the role of dance as a healing art for all kinds of stress. Divided into three sections—"Setting the Stage," "Historical and Non-Western Dance-Stress Relations," and "Western Dance-Stress Relations"—the book's 11 chapters explore dance as art, as entertainment, as therapeutic exercise, and as a competitive discipline. The author describes how numerous cultures have employed dance to deal with life crises, resolve conflicts, revitalize the past, and face the future. She also details the many physical and emotional pitfalls dancers encounter, for example issues surrounding body image. This well-written book will interest a broad audience, including health researchers, therapists, psychologists, dancers, and anthropologists.

CHOICE