Mary Vance

10/26/12
Dance 276
The Cognitive Advancements of Dance
When you think of education, what is brought to your mind? Often times when
people think of education, they connect subjects such as math, science, and English to
it. These subjects, in most public schools, are considered the core curriculum. The study
of these core subjects has brought much cognitive success to our society. They help
students develop critical thinking skills that are beneficial to their learning and
development. Because education in the public schools has placed so much emphasis on
these core subjects though, other subjects tend to be overlooked. Dance is one of these
subjects. Often people misunderstand dance, and argue that is has no educational
merit. This is not true. Dance is a physical activity that involves creativity and mind
power. It has the ability to stimulate cognitive brain development, which can then
promote further growth in other life-long learning skills. For the purpose of this paper,
dance will be discussed along with the cognitive developments and benefits that can be
provided for children through this form of education.
Over the past few years, there has been much research done on how dance
stimulates cognitive brain development, particularly in children. While movement of the
body is the main facet of dance, research has shown that this physicality has a huge effect
on the development of the mind. Dr. John J. Ratey, a clinical psychiatry professor from
Harvard University, said, Evidence is mounting that each persons capacity to master
new and remember old information is improved by biological changes in the brain
brought on only by physical activity. Our physical movements call upon many of the
same neurons used for reading, writing and math. Physically active people reported an
increase in academic abilities, memory retrieval and cognitive abilities. What makes us
move is also what makes us think. Certain kinds of exercise can produce chemical
alterations that give us stronger, healthier and happier brains. A better brain is better
equipped to think, remember and learn (McGreevy-Nichols 146). According to this
quote, it can be assumed then that dancing will allow a child to retrieve information from
their memories better and therefore help them improve in other subjects such as reading,
writing, and math.
Dance often demands of its participants a development of swift thinking skills as
well as memory retrieval skills. This can be seen when a teacher teaches a dance
sequence to a student and then that student is expected to replicate the movement back
within minutes of it being taught. As the dance student struggles to not only think in the
moment, but also connect their bodies to their mind, these swift thinking skills and
memory retrieval skills are being developed. The more a student is given the opportunity
to make these brain and body connections in the moment, the more solidified these
neurological pathways are established. These skills can be helpful for educational
assessments, such as timed tests, as well as future learning and understanding in more
advance school subjects.
In a study done on the brain, the action observation network (AON) system, a
widespread network found in the cortex across the brains hemispheres, was observed
through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This circuitry is the network responsible for
observational learning, which is the process of understanding others actions by
observing their movement. This type of learning is found in our everyday lives, whether
it be observing and simulating how to perform a surgery for a doctor or observing and
simulating how to write a word for a child. There is another form of learning that is
found in the AON of the brain. This type of learning is physical learning, which is the
ability to translate neurological information into actual movement. These are two
important forms of learning. Research shows that teaching using a physical model rather
than a verbal description or spatial guidelines improves learning. This helps us
understand the importance of observational learning as well as physical learning, which
are both found active in the AON of the brain.
This study, showing that observational learning and physical learning take place
in the same location in the brain, revitalized interest in researchers in the motor
simulation theory, which states that we use our motor memories, or our past experiences
with movement, to figure out what people are doing. This leaves us with some
implications for dancers. According to Grafton, these results suggest that dancers might
perceive the world differently because they have a special capacity to simulate what they
observe. This theory does not imply that we can understand actions only if we have
already performed them. Were that the case, the moonwalk would be uninterruptable.
The theory suggests only that prior experience amplifies the ability to simulate others
actions (Grafton). By participating in physical activity, childrens observational
learning can be enhanced. This will then allow for further growth and understanding in
their future observational learning experiences.
Another theory that connects physical activity with brain development is found in
a study called the Brain Dance. Anne Green Gilbert developed the Brain Dance after a
careful study that she performed on infants and their movement developmental patterns.
She observed eight developmental movement patterns that healthy human beings
naturally move through in the first year of life. They are, in order of development,
breathe, tactile stimulation, core-to-distal patterns, head-tail patterns, upper and lower
body connection, body-half connection, cross-lateral connection, and vestibular systems.
These developmental patterns make up our everyday movement and are explored in more
depth in dance classes. According to the brain dance theory, performing these body
patterns are beneficial in reorganizing the central nervous system. As a person repeats
these patterns over time in their life, missing gaps within the neurological system due to
birth, trauma, illness, environment, head injury, or too much tummy time as a baby can
be filled. For example, cross lateral patterns that appear in crawling help to develop
vertical eye tracking. As an infant gets older, these cross lateral patterns translate to
walking, running, and skipping. This vertical eye tracking that is developed during cross-
lateral movement is essential for reading. As a child revisits cross-lateral movement,
their ability to read can be enhanced. Some of the dysfunctions that may later appear
from gaps in the neurological development are learning disabilities, behavior disorders,
memory problems, sleep disorders, speech, balance or filtering problems, and a host of
other problems that disrupt the flow of neurological development. The Brain Dance
helps to reorganize and correct these developmental flaws. It can be assumed then from
this research that physical development is connected with brain development and can
encourage cognitive growth (Gilbert).
Physical movement can also increase a childs cognitive control or ability to pay
attention. In a study done by the University of Illinois, this topic was explored. The goal
of the study was to see if an acute moderate form of exercise, such as walking, was
beneficial for cognitive function in a period of time after the exercise. The study
participants that were chosen were 20 nine-year-old children (eight girls and twelve
boys). They performed a series of stimulus-discrimination tests also known as flanker
tests, which tested their inhibitory control. The students were tested following a 20-
minute rest period and on another day after a 20-minute walking session on a treadmill.
The children were then shown congruent and incongruent stimuli on a screen and asked
to push a button to respond to the incongruences. The findings of the study showed that
the children performed better following walking on the treadmill. They had a higher rank
of accuracy, especially when the flanker task became harder. One aspect of neuron
electric activity that was of particular interest to the researchers was the measure of the
P3 potential found in the brain. The amplitude of the P3 potential relates to the allocation
of attention resources. From the study, the researchers were able to see larger P3
amplitude, which suggested that the children were able to allocate attention resources
better within the brain. Because of this, this study suggests that when more
environmental distractions arise, children are better able to focus and attend to correct
stimulus. In an attempt to relate such performance to academics, researches next
administered tests in reading, spelling, and math. Again researchers noted better
performance on the tests after physical activity took place. The effect was largest in
reading comprehension, which resulted in a full grade level higher. Dance can be a great
physical outlet that can allow a child to pay attention better and develop these helpful
cognition skills (University of Illinois).
Although dance is often looked at as being a physical activity, it is also a creative
activity. This submits that new and other parts of the brain are being utilized and
established during dance activities. As a major part of the elementary dance education
curriculum, children are asked to create their own expressive movement. Often the
teacher will then ask the student to structure this movement into a dance. This type of
activity calls upon a wide array of thinking skills. A study done by Antoinette Westphal
College of Media Arts and Design in Philadelphia found this to be true. Sixteen self-
selected fifth grade students divided into four groups to create dances to be performed at
a school assembly. These students were studied during the choreographic process. Data
for the study was collected from videotapes of the ten study session, interviews with the
study participants, the childrens daily journal entries, and brainstorming sheets created
on days one and two of the study. Careful analysis of the data lead researchers to
conclude that through the creative process, students were able to develop cognition skills
that were very helpful to their everyday lives. The cognitive skills that were developed
were decision making skills, cognitive autonomy skills, and problem finding skills.
According to educational psychologists Runco and Chand, the decision making
skills involved in this kind of assignment, where there are no correct answers, is a
valuable cognitive skill. Runco and Chand went on to say, They need to practice
making choices specifically for original and creative ideas (Giguere 24). Cognitive
autonomy was developed as students had to decide what they wanted to make a dance
about and then translate that idea into communicative movement. This freedom to
choose became one of the most rewarding surprises for the child participants as they took
control of their own problem and solution. Lastly, the children developed problem-
finding skills as they worked with the group to decide what was worthwhile to pursue.
The study suggested that, the formulation of a problem is often more important than its
solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise
new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires
imagination and mark real advance in science (Giguere 24).
Another finding from this study states that there can be value to the social aspect
of creating in dance. The social aspect of this activity provides unique opportunities for
cognitive development because it is collaborative. Creativity researchers Moran and
John-Steiner stress this idea of collaboration because it scaffolds the zone of proximal
development, which is part of a learning theory inspired by Lev Vygotsky, a popular
Russian psychologist. Within this learning theory, cognitive development takes place in
a zone or area near that which is already understood. New concepts are embraced within
this zone as the child seeks to understand the world around them. Social interaction is
key during this zone of proximal development because it allows the child to effectively
scaffold the way to better understanding. Social interaction during the learning process
helps, the individual learn the most that they are developmentally capable of at the time.
Collaboration in this choreographic process allowed other children to be a part of this
scaffolding process for one another as they shared ideas, strategies and decision-making.
It supported the children in their search for finding new ways of expressing themselves
and making meaning (Giguere 25).
While there has been much research done on dance and the cognitive
development that it produces, I feel like I have been someone who has experienced these
cognitive enhancements first hand. I am a dance education major at Brigham Young
University currently, but as a child and in my adolescent years, I was not privileged to
take dance lessons like that of many of my other BYU classmates. As I started into my
college years, I had much catching up to do as far as dance went. This forced me to learn
the art form of dance at a very rapid pace. Through the whole process, because it was
fast, I was able to easily perceive the changes that were occurring with in my cognitive
abilities. I began to recognize and perceive the world in a different way than I had
before. I had a higher capacity to observe and learn through my daily observations. I
became comfortable with finding solutions to a problem. I was happier because I felt like
I had found a voice within myself to express. I had developed cognitive autonomy. I
developed collaboration skills as I learned to work with others. All of these skills have
helped me with other aspects of my life. While not all of these skills have aided me in
becoming a better mathematician or scientist, I believe they have cognitive validity in
other ways. These skills are helpful to me as I go about living my everyday life.
Receiving an education is a very important factor in finding a happy, successful
life. That is why I believe our society sends children to school to learn about various
subjects. Today, while many school subjects and their cognitive outcomes are being
stressed, such as math, science, and English, I believe there are other crucial benefits
found in different subjects, particularly in dance. Dance has the ability to not only
enhance the abilities of other school subjects, but it offers a whole new avenue of
cognitive advancements. Children are prime recipients of these cognitive advancements
found in dance. As they begin to learn these skills at an early age, children can carry
them over to other subjects studied in the classroom as well as other aspects of their lives,
thus leading them to a more happy and successful life.
Works Cited
Giguere, Miriam. Dancing thoughts: an examination of childrens cognition and creative
process in dance. Research in Dance Education 12.1 (2011): 5-28. Print.
Gilbert, Anne Green. Brain Dance. The Creative Dance Center. n.p, n.d. Web. 22 Oct.
2012.
Grafton, Scott T. What Can Dance Teach Us about Learning? The Dana Foundation. 5
Oct. 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
McGreevy-Nichols, Susan. Dance in K-12: Thinking on Your Feet. Dance Teacher
2001: 146-. International Index to Performing Arts Full Text. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2009, April 1). Physical Activity May
Strengthen Childrens Ability To Pay Attention. ScienceDaily 19 Oct. 2012.