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Description Dance therapy is the therapeutic use of movement to improve the mental and physical well being of a person. It focuses on the connection between the mind and body to promote health and healing. Dance therapy can be considered an expressive therapy.

Overview Few scientific studies have been done to evaluate the effects of dance therapy on health, prevention, and recovery from illness. Clinical reports suggest dance therapy may be effective in improving self-esteem and reducing stress. As a form of exercise, dance therapy can be useful for both physical and emotional aspects of quality of life.

Although individual (anecdotal) accounts provide most of the support for the value of dance therapy, a few experimental studies evaluating the effects of dance therapy on health have been published. One recent study gave breast cancer survivors a 12-week dance therapy and movement class. The women who had dance therapy showed better range of motion in their shoulders than those who had not had the class. Body image (how they viewed their bodies) also improved after dance therapy. Clinical reports suggest that dance therapy helps in developing body image; improving self-concept and self-esteem; reducing stress, anxiety, and depression; decreasing isolation, chronic pain, and body tension; and increasing communication skills and feelings of well being. Some of the physical motions of dance therapy can be useful exercise that provides the health benefits produced by exercise. Physical activity is known to increase special neurotransmitter substances in the brain (endorphins) which create a feeling of well being. And total body movement enhances the functions of other body systems, such as the circulatory, respiratory, skeletal, and muscular systems. Regular aerobic exercise helps with glucose metabolism, cardiovascular fitness, and weight control. If dance or movement therapy is used in this way, it can confer the same benefits as other types of exercise. Moderate to vigorous exercise for 30 to 45 minutes on most days of the week can reduce the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer. Dance therapy can help people stay physically fit and enjoy the pleasure of creating rhythmic motions with their bodies. Well-controlled research is needed, however, to confirm the effects of dance therapy on prevention of and recovery from other types of illness.