User:Dance Researcher/sandbox/Conscious dance

Conscious dance is a category of dance practices involving unchoreographed movement for the purposes of authentic expression, discovery and personal development. Conscious dance is often practiced to music and barefoot in group classes. It emphasises spontaneity, present-moment awareness and non-judgemental attitude. Participants are asked to abstain from alcohol and drugs throughout the practice and to refrain from talking on the dance floor.

Many modalities of conscious dance have established schools that train teachers. International Conscious Movement Teachers Association (ICMTA) is an independent professional body that represents teachers trained with approved schools: 5Rhythms, freedomDANCE, Movement Medicine, Open Floor, Path of Azul, and Soul Motion.

Research
A recent comprehensive survey of conscious dance participants by Laird et al. revealed a higher life satisfaction scores that come with practice tenure. It also showed that the practice helps coping with stress-related conditions and brings mood improvement. The after-dance state is often described as “relaxed”, “better mood”, and “greater sense of meaning/purpose”. Almost two-thirds of respondents felt the effects of the practice for at least a ’few days’ (Laird et al., 2021, pp. 5-6).

The flow state, however, is a very well-established concept, and there are even instruments to measure it through questioners. A team of researchers led by Kelsey Laird adapted an existing flow measuring scale to use it in a non-competitive environment and applied it to a sample of over a thousand responses from those who practice ‘conscious dance’, ‘unchoreographed, intentionally non-evaluative mindful movement commonly practiced in a group setting for purposes of authentic self-expression, self-discovery, interpersonal connectedness, and personal healing or growth’ (Laird, 2021, pp. 3, 1).

As it is a new index, there’s no other populations to compare the results with. However, we can compare the participants within the sample. It turns out that the tenure (at least 5 years or less than 5 years) and frequency of practice (at least once per week or less frequently) correlated positively with the likelihood of reported flow experience (Laird, 2021, p. 5).

The dancers were also asked to choose statements that described their experience during and after the sessions. “More present in the moment”, “more present in my body” and “more free” were most frequently endorsed for in-the-moment experience as opposed to after-the-fact result (Laird, 2021, p. 5).

Overall, almost everyone who participated endorsed experiences consistent with mindfulness (i.e., feeling “more present in my body”; 99% of the sample) and psychological flow (“I felt like I was ‘in the zone’ or ‘in the flow’ of things”; 93% of the sample) during the sessions. (Laird, 2021, p. 1, 5).

The same survey of conscious dance participants mentioned above measured trait mindfulness score of the respondents and discovered that it was significantly higher for people who practiced conscious dance for 5 years and over compared with less tenured practitioners (4.44 vs. 4.10, with the mean of 4.27). Those who practiced at least once per week scored higher than those who did it less often (4.35 vs. 4.22). There was also a significant difference in life satisfaction scores, depending on the experience - 26.09 vs. 24.91 for 5 years or more compared with less experience.

The after-dance experience was most often (relative to in-the-session experience) described as “relaxed”, “better mood”, and “greater sense of meaning/ purpose”. Almost two-thirds of respondents reported that the effects of the practice lasted at least a ’few days’.

In addition, the majority of dancers with stress-related health conditions said that their practice helps them cope with the condition. (Laird et al., 2021, pp. 5-6)