Tango Therapy: Current Status and the Next Perspective

Abstract

Dance is basically a complex physical activity which either casually or formally organized in which people take part for fitness, health and well-being, social relationships or competition and a worldwide human activity that involves complex whole body movements through space synchronized to music. Dance-related reviews of evidence have examined the effectiveness of dance therapy on psychological and physical health and well-being outcomes in patients with cancer, for schizophrenia, and on depression. Dance therapy was officially described firstly in 1948. The medical application of dance therapy was well reviewed in neurologic conditions. Dance has been used extensively for the treatment of gait and balance dysfunction in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Especially, Argentine tango is the most frequently employed dance form in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Tango therapy may hold promise as an intervention to improve gait, balance, and mobility in a variety of neurological conditions. Tango therapy was approached from dance therapy to the current status of medical application. A more systemic analysis of tango movement for proper and effective therapeutic application of tango is necessary for medical purposes.

Tango-Therapy Intervention for Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment Living in Nursing Homes: Effects on Quality of Life, Physical Abilities and Gait

“…Changes in the rhythm of music induce a change of gait speed, forcing the dancer to move in a varied spectrum of velocities and to continuously modify step length. From these characteristics, tango appears to be an excellent tool for the rehabilitation of balance and gait [ 16 ], as well as for the prevention of functional decline [ 17 ].…”

Tango-therapy vs physical activity in older people with dementia. A randomized controlled trial

“…Some studies have suggested that the speci c characteristics of tango, such as its rhythmic structure, partner interaction, and focus on weight shifting and balance control, can help improve gait, 43 postural control, 44 and functional mobility. 45 Indeed, this style requires movement initiation and cessation, anticipation and transfers of body weight, multi-directional perturbations, dissociation, whole body coordination, varied speeds and rhythms. Furthermore, participants focus on foot placement and attention to partner, path of movement, and aesthetics.…”

Summary and Initial Exploration of Barbara Gail Montero's Article "The Artist as Critic: Dance Training, Neuroscience, and Aesthetic Evaluation"

“…It is a thinking activity composed of aesthetic subjects through the beautiful images, real movements, and superb skills of dance work. As the author says in the epilogue to the article: "Perhaps the best critics are those who have received a mass of dance training in Aristotle's thought (Koh et al, 2018). In addition, aesthetic as a kind of medium is the midst link between aesthetic subject and aesthetic object, and it is a psychological state of aesthetic perception and sensory association when the aesthetic subject faces the aesthetic object.…”