All dancing bodies matter: six facilitators aiming for inclusion and wellbeing for people with special needs

ABSTRACT

Dance-based interventions are offered to diverse populations experiencing various life challenges. A growing number of studies demonstrate how dance has an impact on different health parameters. However, there are a paucity of studies documenting the content and pedagogy of the dance for health programs. This study examines how six facilitators with different backgrounds foster health and wellbeing through inclusive practices in dance among diverse populations with special needs. To highlight their pedagogical approaches, the data collection included ethnographic observations via video recordings, individual semi-structured interviews providing biographical information, ‘look-alike’ descriptions of each facilitators’ in class behaviour, and verbalisation of an activity with numerous details. A thematic analysis of the entire corpus revealed the strategies used by each facilitator to offer dance as an inclusive artistic practice for everybody and the knowledge informing the adaptation of the dance activities. Regardless of the diverse backgrounds of the facilitators, the results show the importance of crafting dance for health practices and framing emerging knowledge to inform future dance programs and, ultimately providing purposeful activity for enhancing health and wellbeing of people living with different needs. Future studies should examine how craft practices might be constructed as a joint interdisciplinary venture.

KEYWORDS:

• Adapted dance
• dance for health
• dance intervention
• dance pedagogy

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the facilitators for their enormous contributions. The authors also acknowledge members of the research team responsible with Bonnie Swaine of the quantitative facet of the research: Louis Bherer, Martin Lemay and Frédérique Poncet. The authors also thank the National Centre for Dance Therapy, a division of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, for their partnership in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. We use indiscriminately the terms ‘dance-based interventions’ and ‘dance for health activities’.

2. The term ‘dance facilitators’ emphasizes the variety of people, such as dance artists, dance educators, dance therapists, dance teachers and movement educators who provide the dance-based interventions or dance for health activities.

3. The quantitative measures included the Multidimensional Outcome Expectations for Exercise Scale, Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale and in-house questionnaire about improvements in mood and endurance.

4. https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/frequently-asked-questions.

5. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response#:~:text=Mental%20health%20is%20a%20state,to%20his%20or%20her%20community.

6. https://iadms.org/our-story/.

7. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48,223/pf0000248254

8. Actually, nine facilitators led the classes but not all of them were interviewed or quoted in this paper. For example, F2 physiotherapist facilitated the classes with another physiotherapist and a dancer.

9. The participants of the dance classes are identified with a pseudonym.

10. For all the facilitators, self-reported years of experience does not take into account the frequency of dance teaching.

11. For an example of code of conduct in dance: https://www.communitydance.org.uk/membership-services-and-join/professional-code-of-conduct

12. https://cid-world.org/#:~:text = It%20is%20non%2Ddiscriminatory.,is%20elected%20every%20four%20 years

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec, Audace Program [AUDC_ 263184 FRQnet].

Notes on contributors

Sylvie Fortin

Sylvie Fortin (PhD) is a recently retired professor from the Department of Dance at the Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada). Her field of specialization includes socio-cultural study of the body in the combined field of arts and health. She has conducted a series of interdisciplinary research projects involving dancers and non-dancers with various body issues.

Lucie Beaudry

Lucie Beaudry (PhD) is a full professor in the Department of Dance at the Université du Québec à Montreal (Canada) and a researcher at the Centre for interdisciplinary research in rehabilitation of Greater Montréal. Her research interests focus on the use of dance and somatic practices in interventions with targeted populations, among others, patients in rehabilitation post-stroke.

Raymond Caroline

Raymond Caroline (PhD) is a full professor in the Department of Dance at the Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada). She is involved in research projects that aim to document inclusive dance teaching practices in schools and promote wellbeing for people with special needs. She is also a specialist of qualitative interview in arts education and artistic research.

Duval Hélène

Duval Hélène (PhD) is a full professor in the Department of Dance at the Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada) and is involved in funded studies on artistic education, particularly on dance as a means of school and social inclusion. She combines the concepts of professional identity, reflexivity, and creation in research and training systems.

Patricia McKinley

Patricia McKinley (PhD) is a retired professor from the Mc Gill School of Physical and Occupational Therapy. She continues to do research in the use of dance as an adjunct to rehabilitation. She explores this at a local seniors’ centre, where she volunteers and runs the program services lay committee which develops new evidence-based programs for health and well-being of the senior population.

Sylvie Trudelle

Sylvie Trudelle (PhD) a research professional at the Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada). Holder of a postgraduate diploma in Somatic Education (2004), a Master’s degree in Dance (2006) and a PhD in Arts Studies and Practices (2017), she has collaborated on several research projects in arts and education.

Guylaine Vaillancourt

Guylaine Vaillancourt (PhD) is an Associate Professor in Music Therapy and Chair of the Department of Creative Arts Therapies at Concordia University (Canada). She has conducted phenomenology arts-based and participatory action research on social justice, community music therapy and mental health and is a research member of the Concordia’s Arts in Health Research Collective.

Bonnie Swaine

Bonnie Swaine (PhD) is Director of the School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal (Canada). She is a scientist from the Centre for interdisciplinary research in rehabilitation of Greater Montréal (CRIR) and was its co-scientific director from 2009 to 2020. Her research focuses on examining and improving the quality of rehabilitation services.