DaretoDance,DaretoThrivehttp://dorycraze.wix.com/danceout

TheAct,TheBrain,TheMagic

Intro

Sadnessscurriesinalittlegirl'sheartwhensheistoldthatthedanceprogramin

hermiddleschoolhasbeenshutdownfortheupcomingschoolyear.Hopelessnessengulfs

apersonwithParkinson'sdiseasewhoisreadytogiveupbecausemedicineisnotenough.

AngertakesoveraboythathadjuststartedmakingC'sbecauseofhisdanceteacher,who

wastheonlyonetobelieveinhim.Danceiswhatisneededinallofthesesituations.

Danceprovidesthislittlegirlanescapefromherlifeinarefugeecamp.Dancealleviates

thesymptomsofapersonwithParkinson'sdisease,whichhavesymptomsofimbalance.

Danceimprovedthisboysgradesbyincreasingcriticalthinkingwhenlearningand

creatingmoves.Danceisaphysicalactivitythathelpspeople.Whenitisnotavailableso

manythingscangowrong.Whyisdancesoimportant?Whatarethebenefitsofwatching

dance?Whathappenstothebrainwhenapersondances?Danceshouldnotbeachoice,it

shouldbeanecessity,especiallyinschools.Couldyoupictureaworldwithoutdance?

TheAct

Dance.IfIaskedyoutopicturedance,whatwouldcometomind?Youmightpicturea

beautifulballerina,apersondressedinchillclothesbreakdancing,ormaybeevenasorority

stepping.Thelastoneisabitofastretch,butitcouldalsobeconsidereddance.Danceisabout

expressingyourselfthroughmovement.Therearealsodifferenttypesofdancesandwayspeople

canreallyshowhowtheyarefeelingorhavefelt.ThedancersoftheAfricandancecompany

showexamplesofhowdiversedancecanreallybe.Thespectrumofdancegoesfromtraditional

dancingallthewaytomodernandrevampeddanceformslikethewalkitout.Iknowfrom

experience,thatmanyofthenewdancesarejusttheolddancesaddedtonewmusic.Thepoint

ofthisisthatdanceisbroadwhichgivespeopleofallreligionsand,ethnicities,andracestoa

waytocometogetherunderasimilartheumbrella.ofdance.

Dancecanbedonecrossculturallyandcanalsoconnectculturesaswell.Ithasbeen

datedfarbacktoShamansandGreeks.Greekphilosopherseveninterpreteddanceacertainway

asamethodofhelpingandhealing.Danceshavedifferentmovements,andeachmovementin

somecasescanreallyshowcertainemotions.Thismakesitspecialbecauseitcreatesaunique

waytoexpressingonesself.Dancebringalldenominationstogetherandspreadsemotionall

overtheworld.Anexampleofhowglobaldancecanbe,istheBritishTheatreDance

aAssociation.Thisassociationacknowledgesthatdance:transformsimages,ideasandfeelings

intosequencesofmovementthatarepersonallyandsociallysignificant..Inotherwords,this

saysthatthereismoretodancethantheactofdancing.Dancenotonlyrequiresseeingand

feelingthemovementbutthemindofthepersonhastobeintherightplaceaswell.

Dancersmusthaveamindsettodogreatthingstheymustbelieveinthemselves.Dance

teachersbutlearntobalancetheartofdancingandtheindividual.DanHillen,whohasbeena

dancerformorethan35yearsandtaughtdancetoallagegroups,urgesteacherstouselove

whenteachingandthinkmorepositivethannegative.Hillendancesprimarilyintheballetform,

andshestates:Inmyopinion,balletpreparesyoutomeetandpassanyobstacle.This

statementcouldalsobearguedbecausesometeachersareverystrictabouttheprecisionof

movements.Teenagersforinstancemayhavealowerselfesteemiftheycantgetacertain

move.Criticsbelievethistobeaconofcertaindanceforms.ifthedanceformisallthat

matters.AshleyRivers,adancerandwriterinBoston,arguesthatdanceisneededtoteach

communicationskillsanddevelopingonesinnerself.Iagreewithherbecausedancersmust

developthemselvestotrulyimproveandappreciatewhattheyhavedone.Everyhumanbeingis

differentandthatmeantheredanceswithmeslightlydifferent.Danceteachersreallydetermine

howtomaximizetheeffectsofdance.

Danceanditseffectshavebeenstudiedmorerecently.Onestudywhichwasdoneonthe

abilitytolearndancewastheexperimentdonebyScottGrafton,amedicaldoctor.Thisstudy

lookedathowparticipantslearnedandthebrainsreactionstowatchingversuesdoingdance.An

exampleofthisisastudydoneatBangorUniversity.Inthisexperiment,scientistsvideo

recordedaprofessionaldancerinaroom.After,recordingcertainmoves,theyscannedthe

dancersbrainwhilehewaswatchinghimselfdance.Theywereinterestedinseeingthethebrain

activity.Theyarestillintheprocessofconnectingscienceanddance,butthisjustshowshow

relevantstudyingthedanceandthebrainis.Overall,danceismorethanjustthemovements

thereareinnerprocessesthatgoonaswell,whichwewillexploremoreintheBrainsectionof

thewebsite.

TheBrain

Brains.Weallhaveone.Weallneedone.Weallknowthatwecantdoanythinginthis

worldwithoutthebrainplayingsomerole.Well,danceisnotleftoutofthismyriadofactivities

thatthebrainallowsustodo.Danceandthebrainworktogetherandimproveeachother.This

particularsectionisfocusedonlyonthebraincomponentsthingsthatareaffected.Theresultof

thebrainsystems,andneuralconnectionsthatdanceeffectswillbediscussedindepthinthe

Magicportionofthiswebsite.Itisoftensaidthatthebrainisverycomplex,andyouwill

experiencethisevenasitrelatestodancemovement.

Systems/Lobes

Thebrainislikeacompany.Acompanyhasspecificdepartmentsthatspecializeanddocertain

things.Eachcompartmenthasahierarchyofspecializedjobs,buttheyeventuallylinkupto

makeacompanythebestitcanbe.Danceisoneoftheproductsofspecificjobswithinthe

company.VeronicaHakela,adance,travel,andhealthwriter,agreesbysaying:Manyregions

ofthebrainarerequiredtoremember,plan,andproducethecoordinatedmovementsthat

enableustodancetomusicandrhythm.Thissupportsmyclaimthatthebrainisthereason

whywecandance.Thenextstepistodeterminewhatspecificsystemsorlobesareused.

Thecerebralcortexistheouterlayerofthebrain.Thisouterlayeritisthepartofthe

brainyouusuallyseewhenlookingatabrain,anditcharacterizedbymanycertainfoldsinthe

brain.Thelargestportionofthebrainisthecerebralcortex.Thecerebralcortexisdivideintoa

leftandrighthemisphereaswellasspecificlobes.Theselobesinclude:Parietal,Frontal,

Temporal,andOccipital.Themainlobesinvolvedindancingwhenyouwatchandcompletethe

movementsareasystemknownastheActionObservationnetwork.Thisnetworkiscomprised

offourbrainregions:thepremotorcortex,theinferiorparietallobe,andthetemporalregions.

GraftonScottGraftonandEmilyCross,medicaldoctors,conductedanexperimentwhoseresults

showedthatboththepremotorandparietalpartsofthebrainwereusedthemostoutofthese

lobes.Althoughthisshowedtwospecificregionsthatdanceaffectsthebrain,Iwantedtoknow

themorespecifics.

Dancingaffectsalotofthebrainbecausenotonlydoesittakebrainpowertomove,butitalso

takestimetotocreateandvisualizeadancemovement.AndyChumbley,,NTEStatedirectorof

Washingtonstate,doesagreatjobinexplaininghowcertainpartsofthebrainhelpdevelop

dance.Theoccipitallobeforexample,allowsustoseeadancemovementandhelpswith

processingandbreakingdowneachmovement.Thinkabouthowyouthinkaboutlearninga

dance,maybeyoulookatdifferentcountsandsectionsofthemovement?.Theparietallobe,as

mentionedearlierallowsonetobecomeawareofhowthebodyismovinginasetenviroment

andthespaceneededaroundthebodytoreallyperform.Thefrontallobehelpswiththinkingand

justifyingdancemovementswhenwetrytosolveaproblem.Theauditorysectionofthebrainis

partofthetemporallobeanditfocusesonhowadancermustmaintainaspecificemotionand

rhythmwhileperforming.Danceisnotonlyaformofexercise,butaformofcreativity.

Therefore,dancestimulatesbothhemispheresofthebrainconcludes,Chumbley.Thesearethe

mainpartsofthebrain,Iwillnexttalkaboutbrainplasticity,andhowcertainpartsofthebrain

canberesponsiblefromcertainfeelings.

NeurotransmittersandNeuroplasticityNeuroplasticty

Thebrainhassomanylobesandsystemsthatitneedsmessengerstoconnectthemall.The

messengersofthebrainaretheneurotransmitters.NeurotransmittersaBrainwellnessprogram

arebrainchemicalsthatcommunicateinformationthroughoutourbrainandbody.This

supportsmyclaimthattheyarethemessengers.Serotoninandnorepinephrinearetwo

neurotransmittersthatmakeapersonfeelgood.Adrenalineorepinephrinecreateadancers

high.Serotoninhelpscreatemoodstabilityandbalancetheenergyofotherneurotransmitters

likeadrenaline.Norepinephrineisatransmittersthatcalmsthebody,oppositeepinephrine,also

knownasadrenalinethatcausesstress.RachelHanson,achoreographery,agreesthatcertain

neurotransmittersareexcited,butshealsoemphasizesthefactthatsometypesofdancesare

responsibleforcertainreactions.Hansonpointsouthowafastpaceddancemayincreasethe

amountofendorphinsreleased,whileslowdancingdoesn'treleaseasmuch.Neurotransmitters

arestillveryimportantindance,butthefactthatthebraincanactuallychangeisverykeytothe

brainsinteraction.

Thebraincanbendandchangeandchangeandbend.Itcanrepairandmoveandmove

andrepair.Thebrainislikeplastic.Itisaneurokindofplastic.Neuroplasticityisoneofthe

majorbenefitsdancehasonthebrain.Neuroplasticityisresponsibleforthereasonthebraincan

changeandrespondtonewatmospheres,reactions,andrepairitself.Dancecreatesnew

connections,becauseyouareusingsomanydifferentpartsofthebrain.Theabilityofthebrain

tochangeingeneralreallycreatesalotofgreatreactions.Thisiswherethemagicofcombining

danceandbrainsomeintoaction.CheckouttheMagicpartofthebraininthenextsection.

TheMagic

Danceismagical.PictureaDisneyworlddancer,dancingandsingingtoasong.(Findagood

introsentence).Danceprovidesmanypotionsandspellstodifferentaspectsofyourlife.Here

wewilldiscusssomeofthebenefits.

Memory

Certainpartsofthebrainlikethecerebralcortexandhippocampuscanmoveaboutmorelike

elasticandthereforecreatemoreneuralconnections.Neuralconnectionsarethingsthatallows

certainsensestoworklikerememberingapersonsname.Thebrainmustfindtheconnectionto

evenspeakit.Asapersongetsoldertheirtherememorymayfade,butscientistsatStanford

universitybelievethatonewaytodecreasethiswouldbetohavemorecreativewaystousethe

brain.Thesescientistfurtherdiscusshowaspeoplegetoldertheysticktoapattern.Dance

definitelyhelpsimprovecreativityespeciallywhenapersonislearningthemovesinacertain

way.

SchoolPerformance

Dancenowbecomesaformoflearning,butwhyshoulddancebecomeaformneededinschools

andsociety?Dancetakesbrainworkwhetheryouaredoingitwithateamorbyyourself.Whyis

dancenotinschool?Wellsomeschoolsthinktheyneedmoreinstructiontime,eventhough

studieshaveshownthatstudentswhoareactiveinsomeformofphysicalactivityhavedone

betterthanthosestudentsthatjustgothroughthemotionofschool.AccordingtoSirken

RobinsonDr.___inTedtalkschildrenmayhavebeenmissidentifiedwithhavingspecialneeds

becausetheywerejustdancersandhealsosaysthatdanceiscutfirstduringabudgetcrisis.

Althoughdanceisnotasimportantinschoolsasitshouldbe,statisticsshowthattherateof

obesityinAmericaalonecouldresultintheparentsoutlivingthechildren.Dancemakesa

healthychild,andfromthisIcanassumethatahealthychildwilldefinitelyhavebetterschool

performance.

Therapy

Danceisatherapy.Parkinsonspatientswereabletouseboxingandaformoflatindancingto

helpwiththeirsymptomsandtheyfeltalotbetter.Dancehasevenbeenusedasatherapynot

onlyforactualillnessesbutalsoforchildrenwhohavegonethroughtrials.AmberGray,an

authorofDance/Movementtherapywithrefugeesandsurvivorchildren:AHealingpathwayis

ahealingsuccess.InanAfricandancevideo,thedancerstalkedabouthowthewayyoushow

paincannotbesimplifiedintoamovement.Danceslowschildrenandadultstoreleasetheir

lastingfeelingsandcreateamorepositiveatmosphereintheirebrain.

WorksCited

Dir.AllaKovganandJoanFrosch.Prod.JoanFroschMovement(R)evolutionAfrica:AStoryof

anArtForminFourActs..DocumentaryEducationalResources(DER),2008.Dancein

Video:VolumeI.Web.30Mar.2015.

Grafton,Scott,M.D,andEmilyCross,MS.ArtsandCognitionMonograph:Danceandthe

Brain.TheDanaFoundation,Mar.2008.Web.08Mar.2015.

Gray,AmberElizabeth."Dance/MovementTherapyWithRefugeeAndSurvivorChildren:A

HealingPathwayIsACreativeProcess."Creativeinterventionswithtraumatizedchildren

(2nded.).169190.NewYork,NY,US:GuilfordPress,2015.PsycINFO.Web.27Feb.

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Hillman,CharlesH."TheRelationOfChildhoodPhysicalActivityToBrainHealth,Cognition,

AndScholasticAchievement:I.AnIntroductionToTheRelationOfPhysicalActivityTo

CognitiveAndBrainHealth,AndScholasticAchievement."MonographsOfTheSociety

ForResearchInChildDevelopment79.4(2014):16.PsycINFO.Web.6Mar.2015.

Knox,Richard."FightParkinson's:ExerciseMayBeTheBestTherapy."NPR.NPR,2Feb.

2015.Web.08Mar.2015.

Powers,Richard."UseItorLoseIt:DancingMakesYouSmarter."DancingMakesYouSmarter.

StandfordDance,30July2010.Web.29Mar.2015.

Wong,Sam."BalletDancers'BrainsAdapttoStopThemFeelingDizzy."ImperialCollege

London.ImperialCollegeLondon,27Sept.2013.Web.29Mar.2015.