Effects of dance on anxiety

Effectiveness of complementary and self‐help treatments for anxiety disorders

“… 100 An observational study of student classes in colleges of further education found a significant decrement of almost 1 SD in state anxiety scores over a term of study for 23 modern dance students. 101 The change was greater than that found for students in sport, music and mathematics classes (all non‐significant).…”

“…100 An observational study of student classes in colleges of further education found a significant decrement of almost 1 SD in state anxiety scores over a term of study for 23 modern dance students. 101 The change was greater than that found for students in sport, music and mathematics classes (all non-significant). Conclusion: There is some evidence that structured movement therapy is helpful in reducing test anxiety, and it may also be helpful for managing other anxiety problems in clinical groups and in people with self-identified anxiety.…”

Dancing Mindfulness: A Phenomenological Investigation of the Emerging Practice

“…Dance therapy literature alludes to mindful movement and the impact of mindbody synergy as a major premise of dance therapy and its efficacy (Dasgupta, 2013;Gordon, 2014, Lesté & Rust, 1984Potter, 2008). Recent dance therapy chapters more directly reference mindfulness (Beardall & Surrey, 2013;Tantia, 2013).…”

Dance Movement: A Therapeutic Program for Psychiatric Clients

“…Other qualitative research concentrated on children (Couper, 1981;Pothier, 1980) or the elderly (Chaisson, Beutler, Yost, & Allender, 1984;Goldberg & Fitzpatrick, 1980). One experimental study was carried out with college students (Leste & Rust, 1984). Findings indicated that a modern dance program reduced anxiety in a sample of 114 students.…”