Grief Processing Dance Therapy Emotional Expression

The concept that I am developing is the process of grieving. I want to connect with this topic and issue because it isn’t talked about or discussed. While thinking about grief in dance form, I imagine emotions’ internal and external use. The internal use of emotions would be some dancers going through the grief processes inside, while the external use would be one or two dancers dealing with the grief externally. The external use of emotions will show more of what they are going through throughout the processes of grief. I also want my piece to demonstrate community.

I want the dancers also to feel like they are all supporting each other through the process of grieving. The working title that I am working on is ‘In a Time Lapse-Recovery Absorption.’ This title will help in understanding the biology of grief through dance. This can help people to have a memory of the loss they experienced, connect to other people who shared the grief, and allow them to feel the emotions not only in their heads but in their bodies as well (Ozovek, 2018).

A principle of connection fosters emotional aspects of the grieving process through dancing. It simply implies that nothing works in isolation; any effect on one part of the body affects the whole. The biology behind this can help us appreciate the multidimensional human body and the inter-connected systems concerning dance and choreography. This is because the body is the dancer’s instrument and the functions involved in the movement are essential in the dance.

For my piece, I will repeat some of the stages of grief and go out of order because when going through grief, you do not go through each step in order, and you can repeat or go back to some of the stages of grief. I want to convey that it is okay to grieve externally and internally. Your grief is personal to you, and no one should tell you how to grief or what the grief process should look like.

In this particular piece, the conflict likely to occur is whether this grieving choreographic dance will serve as a commentary on human nature, a historical reflection, or a medium for people to see things from a new perspective. Some people may not be receptive because it may not align with their beliefs.

The tension associated with this piece is how the audience will react, whether the dance will make them feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed (Ozovek, 2018). After a loss, the last thing one would think of is dancing, therefore changing some of the perspectives through the dances may be quite a challenge.

When working with dancers, I want to work on vocally speaking on stage and dancing while speaking. The dancers will learn phrase work and structure improvisation that produce choreography. Improvisation is a great tool for my dancers to create movements. I will have my dancers perform the exercise by creating one movement then allowing the movement to flow into another after several practices.

This works with the phrase work; my dancers creatively evolve their dance sequences. I would also have the dancers dig deep in their grieving process and provide a safe place for their vulnerability. When thinking about my piece, I see it on stage because I won’t live music and live spoken word, which I will create on my own. I also see my dancers screaming on stage. I want real and raw emotions. I see five to seven dancers. I like this dance to be very touching and vulnerable for the dancers and the audience.