PROSPECTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION THE «EDUCATIONAL DANCE» APPROACH IN NEUROREHABILITATION

Abstract

Dance movement therapy is a part of art therapy, which implements dance and movement to improve various aspects of a person’s daily functioning, improving his/her physical and emotional state. Dance therapy is especially applicable in older age, when intense stresses are beyond his/her physical capabilities. Elderly people who dance on the regular basis have better flexibility, postural stability, balance, reaction time and cognitive abilities, compared to people of the same age who do not dance. Published evidence support the positive experience of using dance therapy as a method of rehabilitation in elderly patients and subjects with various neurological and mental disorders. Argentine tango represents a promising tool of art therapy, because it is based on biomechanical schemes of movement that are physiological for the human body, includes an improvisation element that stimulates neuroplasticity, and activates social, cognitive, psychological and communicative abilities of the subject. The use of the “educational dance” approach in teaching allows solving several rehabilitation tasks: adaptation of the subject to the process of perception of new information; learning to realize body in motion and build motion on the basis of biofeedback; achievement of maximum comfort during movement and gain a unique manner of movement that is maximally functional for the subject. The acquired skill of conscious movement can become the foundation for further rehabilitation. Thus, argentine tango may be a useful rehabilitation tool for patients with diseases of the nervous system who need to improve motor skills, balance and coordination, and cognitive and communicative capacity. In addition, the use of argentine tango as a motivational factor in comprehensive rehabilitation programs seems promising. The influence of dance therapy on the mood and quality of life in the elderly requires further study in this population.