Abstract
An analysis of movement, and particularly of dance,helps us to see in an extraordinarily effective way the meaningof embodiment. This paper then looks through the eyes ofdance theorists and at philosophers who consider dance andmovement and their meaning of embodiment. A study of movementand dance encompasses the fullest meaning of embodiment: that theembodied way of being-in-the-world is also an embedded way ofbeing in a world of others. Dance has critically importantsocial ramifications. In our own and other cultures, dance playsan important role in healing and in health enhancement.
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NOTES AND REFERENCES
See Lennart Nordenfeldt, On Medicine and Other Means of Health Enhancement -Toward a Conceptual Framework, Health Care and Philosophy 1998; 1, pp. 5–12.
The reflections of the co-author and dancer, Betty Block.
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Laban, The Mastery of Movement, Plymouth: Northcott House, 1988. Note that Laban does not argue that dance is symbolic, that certain kinds of movement carry with them certain meanings; but rather that dance movements are meaningful, as in any work of art, both for the dancer and for the audience.
The Mastery of Movement, n. 9.
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See Howaida El Guindy and Claire Schmais, The Zar: An Ancient Dance of Healing, American Journal of Dance Therapy 1994; 16, pp. 107–120.
See “The Zar: An Ancient Dance of Healing.”
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Block, B., Kissell, J.L. The Dance: Essence of Embodiment. Theor Med Bioeth 22, 5–15 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009928504969
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009928504969