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      Returning to the well : an inquiry into women's experiences in community-based expressive movement sessions

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      Date
      2009
      Author
      Davison, Mischa Louise
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
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      Abstract
      The present study explored 12 women’s experiences in five community-based improvisational movement sessions. The study was two-pronged in nature, attending to the experience of expressive movement and somatic awareness exercises as well as the experience of gathering together as women. Session activities were taken from movement and somatic practices such as Authentic Movement, the 5Rhythms®, YogaDance®, the Big Fat Ass Dance Class®, theatre-based exercises, contact improvisation and African Dance. The chosen methodology was hermeneutic phenomenology using a weekly sharing circle, post-session interviews, and journal entries as data. Although inquiring into both psychological and movement experiences, the study did not derive from a formal Dance/Movement Therapy perspective but instead, prioritized the women’s own voices in order to elucidate the inherent experience and worth of expressive movement within a community framework. Three core constructs arose from my analysis: Conscious Embodiment, Conscious Play and Conscious Connection. The underlying role of relationality is highlighted in the final chapter. Findings contribute to a preventive and resiliency orientation as opposed to the more typical clinical and therapeutic research found in the field of Dance/Movement Therapy.
      Degree
      Master of Education (M.Ed.)
      Department
      Educational Psychology
      Program
      Educational Psychology
      Supervisor
      Nicol, Jennifer A. J.
      Committee
      Martin, Stephanie; Kipling Brown, Ann; Kalyn, Brenda
      Copyright Date
      2009
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-02182009-191151
      Subject
      authentic
      wellness
      quality
      health promotion
      flow
      play
      phenomenology
      existential
      consciousness
      connection
      relationality
      community
      feminine
      circle
      therapy
      somatic
      group
      body
      embodiment
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      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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