Dare to Dance, Dare to Thrive

http://dorycraze.wix.com/danceout

The Act, The Brain, The Magic

Intro
Sadness scurries in a little girl's heart when she is told that the dance program in
her middle school has been shut down for the upcoming school year. Hopelessness engulfs
a person with Parkinson's disease who is ready to give up because medicine is not enough.
Anger takes over a boy that had just started making C's because of his dance teacher, who
was the only one to believe in him. Dance is what is needed in all of these situations.
Dance provides this little girl an escape from her life in a refugee camp. Dance alleviates
the symptoms of a person with Parkinson's disease, which have symptoms of imbalance..
Dance improved this boys grades by increasing critical thinking when learning and
creating moves. Dance is a physical activity that helps people. When it is not available so
many things can go wrong. Why is dance so important? What are the benefits of watching
dance? What happens to the brain when a person dances? Dance should not be a choice, it
should be a necessity, especially in schools. Could you picture a world without dance?
The Act
Dance. If I asked you to picture dance, what would come to mind? You might picture a
beautiful ballerina, a person dressed in chill clothes break dancing, or maybe even a sorority
stepping . stepping. The last one is a bit of a stretch, but it could also be considered dance. Dance
is about expressing yourself through movement. There are also different types of dances and
ways people can really show how they are feeling or have felt. The dancers of the African
Ddance Ccompany, which is an African dance company that emphasizes there movements by

how they feel, show examples of how diverse dance can really be. The spectrum of dance goes
from traditional dancing all the way to modern and revamped dance forms like the walk- it out. I
know from experience, that many of the new dances are just the old dances added to new music.
The point of this is that dance is broad which gives people of all religions and, ethnicities, and
races ethnicities to a way to come together under a similar the umbrella . of dance.
Dance can be done cross-culturally and can also connect cultures as well. It has been
dated far back to Shamans and Greeks. Greek philosophers even interpreted dance a certain way
as a method of helping and healing. Dances have different movements, and each movement in
some cases can really show certain emotions. This makes it special because it creates a unique
way to expressing onesyour self. Dance brings all denominations together and spreads emotion
all over the world. An example of how global dance can be, is the British Theatre Dance
aAssociation. This association acknowledges that dance :dance: transformstransforms images,
ideas and feelings into sequences of movement that are personally and socially significant.. In
other words, this says that there is more to dance than the act of dancing. Dance not only requires
seeing and feeling the movement but the mind of the person has to be in the right place as well.
Dancers must have a mindset to do great things, they must believe in themselves. Dance
teachers but must learn to balance the art of dancing and the individual. Dan Hillen, who has
been a dancer for more than 35 years and taught taught dance to all age groups, urges teachers to
use love when teaching and think more positive than negative. Hillen dances primarily in the
ballet form, and she states: InIn my opinion, ballet prepares you to meet and pass any
obstacle. This statement could also be argued because some teachers are very strict about the
precision of movements. Teenagers for instance may have a lower self-esteem if they cant get a
certain move. They may work hard and stress themselves out and feel that they are pushed to

hard which leads to them not believing in themselves. Critics believe this to be a con of certain
dance forms . if the dance form is all that matters. Ashley Rivers, a dancer and writer in Boston,
argues that dance isdance is needed to teach communication skills and developing ones inner
self. I agree with her because dancers must develop themselves to truly improve and appreciate
what they have done. Every human being is different and that mean there dances with me
slightly different.which mean dance forms are going to be different. In certain culture beats and
hand movements may be used, wheras other cultures may focus on feet movement and more
modest ballroom type dance. Dance teachers really determine how to maximize the effects of
any kind of dance.
Dance and its effects have been studied more recently. One study which was done on the
ability to learn dance was the experiment done by Scott Grafton, a medical doctor. This study
looked at how participants learned and the brains reactions to watching versuesversus doing
dance. An example of this is a study done at Bangor University. In this experiment, scientists
video recorded a professional dancer in a room. After , recording certain moves, they scanned
the dancers brain while he was watching himself dance. They were interested in seeing the the
brain activity . They are still in the process of connecting science and dance, but this just shows
how relevant studying the dance and the brain is. Overall, dance is more than just the
movements; there are inner processes that goeso on as well, which we will explore more in the
Brain section of the website.
The Brain
Brains. We all have one. We all need one. We all know that we cant do anything in this
world without the brain playing some role. Well, dance is not left out of this myriad of activities
that the brain allows us to do. Dance and the brain work together and improve each other. This

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particular section is focused only on the brain components things that are affectedthat are
affected by or affect dance. The results of the processes of brain systems\, and neural
connections that dance effects will be discussed in depth in the Magic portion of this website. It
is often said that the brain is very complex, and you will experience this even as it relates to
dance movement.
S ystems/ Lobes
The brain is like a company. A company has specific departments that specialize and do

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certain things. Each compartment has a hierarchy of specialized jobs, but they eventually link up
to make a company the best it can be. Dance is one of the products of specific jobs within the
company. Veronica Hakela, a dance, travel, and health writer, agrees by saying: Many regions
of the brain are required to remember, plan, and produce the coordinated movements that
enable us to dance to music and rhythm. This supports my claim that the brain is the reason
why we can dance.shows is that the brain is responsible for the major needs of dancing. The next
step is to determine what specific systems or lobes are used?.
The cerebral cortex is the outer layer of the brain. This outer layer;itlayer is the part of
the brain you usually see when looking at a regular brain imagebrain, and ist characterized by
many certain folds in the brain. The cerebral cortex is theThe largest portion of the brain is the
cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is divide into a left and right hemisphere as well as specific
lobes, . These lobes include: Parietal, Frontal, Temporal, and Occipital.Occipital. These are lobes
that directly help us dance and they will be my main focus.
The main lobes involved in dancing when you watch and complete the movements are a
system known as the Action Observation network. This network is comprised of four brain

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regions: the premotor cortex, the inferior parietal lobe, and the temporal regions. Grafton
ScottScott Grafton and Emily Cross, medical doctors, conducted an experiment whose results
showed that both the premotor and parietal parts of the brain were used the most out of these
lobes. Although this showed two specific regions that dance affects the brain, I wanted to know
more specifically what processes go on within different parts of the brain.the more specifics.
Dancing affects a lot of the brain because not only does it take brain power to move, but
it also takesalso takes time to to create and visualize a dance movement. Andy
ChumbleyChumbley, the ,, NTE State director of Washington state and choreographer, does a
great job in explaining how certain parts of the brain help develop dance. The occipital lobe for
example, allows us to see a dance movement and helps with processing and breaking down each
movement. Think about how you think about learning a dance, maybe you look at different
counts and sections of the movement?.Can you picture yourself strictly observing a dance form,
looking at the count and sections of the movement? The parietal lobe, as mentioned earlier
allows one to become aware of how the body is moving in a set enviromentenvironment and the
space needed around the body to really perform. The frontal lobe helps with thinking and
justifying dance movements when we try to solve a problem and learn a movement. Thethe
auditory section of the brain is part of the temporal lobe is like the dancers temper, and it
focuses on how a dancer must maintain a specific emotion and rhythm while performing.
DanceDance is not only a form of exercise, but a form of creativity. Therefore, dance stimulates
both hemispheres of the brain concludes, Chumbley. These are the main parts of the brain that
allow one to dance. Next I will talk about, I will next talk about brain plasticity ,andplasticity,
and how certain parts of the brain can be responsible forrom certain feelings.
Neurotransmitters and NeuroplasticityNeuroplastictyNeuroplasticity

The brain has so many lobes and systems that it needs messengers to connect them all. The
messengers of the brain are the neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters according ato a Brain

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wellness program are brain chemicals that communicate information throughout our brain and
body. This supports my claim that they are the messengers. Serotonin and norepinephrine are
two neurotransmitters that make a person feel good. Adrenaline or epinephrine create a dancers
high. Serotonin helps create mood stability and balance the energy of other neurotransmitters
like adrenaline. Norepinephrine is a transmitters that calms the body, opposite epinephrine, also
known as adrenaline that causes stress. Rachel Hanson, a choreographerychoreographer, agrees
that certain neurotransmitters are excited, but she also emphasizes the fact that some types of
dances are responsible for certain reactions. Hanson points out how a fast paced dance may
increase the amount of endorphins released, while slow dancing doesn't release as much.
Neurotransmitters are still very important in dance, but the fact that the brain can actually change
is very key to the brains interaction.
The brain can bend and change and change and bend. It can repair and move and move
and repair. The brain is like plastic. It is ais a neuro kind of plastic. Neuroplasticity is one of the
major benefits dance has on the brain. Neuroplasticity is responsible for the reason the brain can
change and respond to new atmospheres, reactions, and repair itself. Dance creates new
connections, because you are using so many different parts of the brain. The ability of the brain
to change in general really creates a lot of great reactions. This is where the magic of combining
dance and brain some into action. Check out the Magic part of the brain in the next section to
explore more of the benefits..
The Magic

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Dance is magical. Picture a Disney world dancer, dancing and singing to a song. ( Find a good
intro sentence)Do you have the picture?. Dance provides many potions and spells to different
aspects of your life. Here we will discuss some of the benefits.
Memory
Certain parts of the brain like the cerebral cortex and hippocampus can move about more like
elastic and therefore create more neural connections. Neural connections are things that allows
certain senses to work like remembering a persons name. The brain must find the connection to
even speak itspeak it. As a person gets older theirtheretheir memory may fade, but scientists at
Stanford Uuniversity believe that one way to decrease this would be to have more creative ways
to use the brain. These scientists further discuss how as people get older they stick to a pattern.
Dance definitely helps improve creativity especially when a person is learning the moves in a
certain way.
S chool Performance
Dance now becomes a form of learning, but why should dance become a form needed in schools
and society? Dance takes brain work whether you are doing it with a team or by yourself. Why is
dance not in school? Well some schools think they need more instruction time, even though
studies have shown that students who are active in some form of physical activity have done
better than those students that just go through the motion of school. According to Sirken
Robinson Dr. ___ in Ted talks children may have been miss-identified with having special needs
because they were just dancers and he also says that dance is cut first during a budget crisis.
Although dance is not as important in schools as it should be, statistics show that the rate of
obesity in America alone could result in the parents outliving the children. Dance makes a

healthy child, and from this I can assume that a healthy child will definitely have better school
performance.
Therapy
Dance is a therapy. Parkinsons patients were able to use boxing and a form of Llatin dancing to
help with their symptoms and they felt a lot better.Dancebetter. Dance has even been used as a
therapy not only for actual illnesses but also for children who have gone through trials. Amber
Gray, thean author of Dance/M ovement therapy with refugees and survivor children: A
Healing pathway is a healing success. writes about how dance allowed children to become more
susceptible to therapy because the brain was changing and they could see things in different
Inways. In an African dance video, the dancers talked about how the way you show pain cannot
be simplified into a movement. Dance slows children and adults to release their lasting feelings
and create a more positive atmosphere in theiretheir brain and in the worl.
What now?

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The act of dancing, the brain processes, and the magic of combining the act of dancing and the
brain have been discussed, but what now? Now we should share this information with educators
and policy makers. We should show them the facts that dance improves all age groups. We
should make a very high focus in schools because these children are the next generation. Dance
should be in the curriculum because as Sirken Robinson talked about, we are our entire body and
not just our heads. Dance as you have seen improves memory and school performance, as well as
provides a therapy for people who are sick. Dance shouldnt be a choice in school it could be
required. Kids need dance. I hope this makes you aware of the need.

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Works Cited

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Grafton, Scott, M .D, and Emily Cross, M S.Arts and Cognition Monograph: Dance and
the Brain. The Dana Foundation, M ar. 2008. Web. 08 M ar. 2015.
Gray, Amber Elizabeth. "Dance/M ovement Therapy With Refugee And Survivor Children:
A Healing Pathway Is A Creative Process. "Creative interventions with traumatized
children (2nd ed.). 169-190. New York, NY, US: Guilford Press, 2015. PsycINFO. Web.
27 Feb. 2015.
Hillman, Charles H. "The Relation Of Childhood Physical Activity To Brain Health,
Cognition, And Scholastic Achievement: I. An Introduction To The Relation Of Physical
Activity To Cognitive And Brain Health, And Scholastic Achievement." Monographs Of
The Society For Research In Child Development 79.4 (2014): 1-6. PsycINFO. Web. 6 M ar.
2015.
Knox, Richard. "Fight Parkinson's: Exercise M ay Be The Best Therapy." NPR. NPR, 2
Feb. 2015. Web. 08 M ar. 2015.
Powers, Richard. "Use It or Lose It: Dancing Makes You Smarter." Dancing Makes You Smarter.
Standford Dance, 30 July 2010. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

Wong, Sam. "Ballet Dancers' Brains Adapt to Stop Them Feeling Dizzy."Imperial College
London. Imperial College London, 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 29 M ar. 2015.