Occupational Therapy News OTnews July 2019 | Page 34

FEATURE CREATIVE ARTS
Circle dance in occupational therapy
Dr Ana Lucia Borges da Costa, lecturer in occupational therapy and circle dance
teacher, shares her experience of using circle dance in practice and research
D
ance has always been part of my life.
My experience with dance started in
my childhood, when I was six years old,
joining a local ballet dance school. This
was the beginning of a long and rewarding journey,
experiencing different styles of dance and taking part
in performances, from classical ballet, jazz, modern
dance, dance influenced by the Laban Movement
(Fernandes 2015) and, of course, circle dance.
I was introduced specifically to circle dance in
1992, during a work experience placement as a
qualified occupational therapist in the mental
health service for Trieste and Imola,
in Northern Italy, where I
was invited to take part
in the inauguration
of a sheltered
accommodation
unit in Imola
for adults with
mental health
problems.
A community
circle dance
group had
been invited
to entertain
the clients, their
families, visitors and
health professionals.
The group came because
they had discovered that circle
dance contributed to creating a sense
of community, provided a relaxing environment, and
was an opportunity for everybody to join in dances
from different countries and cultures.
I was fascinated and enchanted by the
experience; it represented a turning point in the
sense that I saw the potential link between this
form of dance and my practice as an occupational
therapist (Borges da Costa 2014).
What is circle dance?
So, what is circle dance? Circle dance is a revival of
a very ancient art form, which for thousands of years
34 OTnews July 2019
allowed people from different cultures to express
themselves through movement and dance.
Characterised by being vast and diverse, the
circle dance repertoire includes traditional dances
from different countries and cultures in addition
to contemporary choreographies. As a shared
occupation, the integration and inclusion of the
participants is a fundamental aspect of circle dance
(Borges da Costa and Cox 2016).
In the UK, the circle dance movement was started
after a former German ballet master, choreographer
and researcher into folk dance, Bernhard Wosien, led
a dancing event in October 1976, at the
Findhorn Community, in Scotland.
Currently, the circle dance
network includes active groups
in Africa, Australia, Europe,
North America and South
America. In the UK
there are around 270
circle dance teachers
(Borges da Costa
2014).
Practice overseas
I started incorporating
circle dance into my
practice as an occupational
therapist in 1995, initially in
a mental health clinical setting,
in São Paulo, Brazil, where I am
originally from.
The positive feedback I received from clients,
as well as from other professionals, inspired me to
continue using circle dance in a clinical setting and to
extend its use in community settings.
Furthermore in 1995, I introduced circle dance
to the curriculum of the BSc (Hons) Occupational
Therapy programme at the University of São Paulo,
Brazil. Circle dance was included in one of the
undergraduate modules, in which the students
experienced and explored a range of expressive
activities, such as music, dance and drama, and
reflected on their therapeutic potential and their
application in practice.
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