DANGING DIALOGUE Uatey the Canta aatien Power of Movement with Young Childrent&DANCING _ “DIALOGUE Using the Communicative Power of Movement with Young Children Suzi Tortora, Ep.D., ADTR, CMA PAUL-H- BR OK Us PUBLISHING C° Jo Baltimore * London * SydneyAUL-H BROKES Paul B, Brookes Publishing Co. Post Office Box 10624 Baltimore, Maryland 21285-0624 wwiww-brookespublishing.con Copyright © 2006 by Paul 1. Brookes Publishing Co., Ine. All rights reserved, “paul H. Brookes Publishing Co." is a registered trademark of Paul 1. Brookes Publishing Co, Ine. Jypeset hy Auburn Associates, Ine., Baltimore, Maryland. Manufactured in the United States of America by: Versa Press, Hast Peoria, iinais, ‘The vignenies in this book are composites hased ov the author's actual expertences, In most insiances, names and identilying details have been changed te proiect confiden- tiality, Acinal names and identifying details are ased by permission of the mdividuals ‘o7 their paventséguardians. All photographs in this book are used by permission of the individnals pienired oF their parents and/guardians. Purchasers al The Dancing Dialogue: Using the Connmeosicasive Power of Mhovianen witht Yours Children are granted permission to photocopy various materials from she book for clini- cal or educational purposes. Readers also may access free of charge from hup:/wrwwhcookespublishing.com/dancing various blank forms and resources relaved to Ihe book. None af these materials may be reproduced to generate revenne tor any program or individual. Photocopies snay only be made from av original book, Unauthorized nse beyond this privilege is proseeutable ander federal laws, You wi sec the copy- sight protection notice at the bottom of each photocopiable page. Pages 29, 40: Quotation bom DUINO JLGIES by Rainer Maria Rikke, Uanslaed by David Young. Copyright © 1978 by W. W. Norton & Company, ine, Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, inc Page 323: Quotaiion from THE RUNAWAY BUNNY, REVISHD EDITION by MARGARET WISE, BROWN: COPYRIGHT 1942 by HARPER & ROW, INC. RENEWED 1970 BY ROBERTA BROWN RAUCH. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ‘Tortora, Siz ‘The dancing dialogue : using the communicative power of movement with young children / Sttzi Tortora, pen Includes bibliographical relerences and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-55766-834-9 (pbk) ISBR10: 1-55766-834-5 (pbk. 3. Movement education, 2. Ne sie. Is assessincnt, 3. Dance therapy for childrest. GVA52, T676 2006 372.86 8—be22, 2009025332, British Library Cataloguing in Publication daia are avaitable Irom the British Library.Wars of Seeing —~ BI both by experiences of navigating through these carly developmental jasks and by perceptions of support received trom the early environ ment, These experiences and perceptions will also greatly iilucnce the extent and the manney to which a therapist can mteract and work with a particular child, ack child’s way of pavigating Hough these sages is unique, but can pe observed by the therapist who uses the Ways of Seeing tools to analyze a child’s movement repertoire. Emotional Themes and Transitional Movement Awareness Through Hach Age Motor and movement development stages or levels influence how chil- dren Jearn {© navigate their bodies in their surroundings. The relation~ ship between preexisting developmental levels and a child’s groweh is dynamie—the term dynamic being defined as the nonlinear order that emerges from an interplay ol influences (Smith & Thelen, 1993; Thelen & Smith, 1994), Hach child’s individual course of development is shaped as specific and unique elements of personal expericnees inter- act with innate biological and physiological traits. Table 3.1 and the descriptions that follow summarize the charac- teristic elemenis of cach developmental level that tnfuence children’s experiences of moving. While reading through these descriptions, it is helpful for a reader to visualize specific children he or she has watched go through these stages. How each child maneuve through these ley- éls is unique and personal, and therelore the goal of considering a spe- cilic child is to identily the individuality within each child’s style, yather than to fit cach child into a category. It will be the gualitative aspects of style that depict each child’s uniqueness and provide insight into that child’s experience. The information gleaned Lom Usis type of understanding can become useful in future assessment, intervention, and educational programs. Fach level has broad and overlapping age ranges to highlight the dynamic natare of development and the Jact that qualities of develop- ment coexist af all times. The particular qualities denoted depict the dominant qualities experienced through the specific movements of that stage. These qualities describe children’s experiences of their mov ing bodies to explore specilic actions in space. For example, when a baby begins to discover the transition from being primarily on the oor to standing, her spatial organization becomes vertical; as she stretches: into the full Jengéh of her body, she begins to experience the qualita- tive (Effort) elements of weight—strength and lightness—as she feels% Table 3.1. Movement tasks, accomplishments, prominent movements, and emotional/body and spatial themes by age level Movement tasks and accomplishments Prominent movements Emotional/body themes Spatial themes Birth to 3-6 months * Free-bound tension flow + Breath flow * Feeling body in world ot gravity * Inner space fluctuations Flexion and extension * Hard and soft surfaces versus = body — self-regulation * Stabilizing seven senses * Muscular tension fluctuations floating fluidity of womb * Exploring new world through stimulation and stabilization of all senses © Quality of touch * Focus, attending, attention 312 months * Space, horizontal dimension/ First through eye gaze and * Choosing to explore moving Horizontal orientation to world plane focused attention, later actually self and world around self * Body weight most often in Budding mobility venturing out through purposeful Awareness of quality of space, contact with full body surfaces * Exploring space reaching of limbs out into space, people, and things wit! prone, supine, side to side * Taking in world and beginning _and then increased exploration of space around self © éaida' create on ellfour to venture out space via whole body movement, ints 9 * Early beginning of gaining more ‘Olling and pushing up conirol of physical self, body 9-24 months * Weight, vertical dimension/ * Sensing length and use of * Budding self-will developing * Vertical orientation of body to plane spine * Quality of weight, strength, surroundings, up and down ° “Herelam" ~ ‘* Feeling limbs as weight sup- and passivity * Balance, strength, lightness. ports, develops into standing, * Passive weight versus balancing, falling, and controlled use of weight recovering * Falling, coming back up, recovering © Up-and-down movement Table 3.1. (continued) ee enmec Prominent movements Emotional/body themes ‘Spatial themes 18-36 months * Time, sagittal dimension/ * Rising up onto toes * Gaining contol of se, body * Sagital forward/backward plane * Falling forward and catching pel ‘surroundings, * “Here | come” self . * “On the go—coming and * Lifting feet off flor into jump- + Use i ua of time for going” ing * Starting to become more * Jumping forward, running, aware of body part relationships marching, galloping, leaping, turning * Whole range of movements available to explore * Able to attach symbolic meaning to movements 3-7 years © Mastery and modulation of all» All of above available now ; movement qualities above * Mastery, exploration, and development of own personal movement signature occurs * Able to explore variations and © Clear differentiation of movement qualities and body parts occurs as defined sense of self develops subtleties, not just extremes 884 + The Dancing Dialogue and learns to maneuver her body weight to successfully balance. Her sense of success and safety, as well as the amount and type of support she experiences from significant caregivers, will affect her emotional reactions during this discovery period. Bach level is examined separately in terms of its prominent move- ments, its emotional themes arising from movement explorations, its spatial body orientations, and its qualitative: movement-oriented awareness. While a child's exploration continues and expands, new levels of development and movement skills should come into focus, Birth to 3-6 Months A baby’s awareness of prominent move- ments at this age involves muscular tension fluctuations, head control, eye gaze, and breath flow. Because he has Just arrived from the fluid- filled environment of the womb, he is experiencing the effects of grav- ity and body weight on his moving form. A baby’s whole sensory system is stimulated as he encounters a wide variety of sounds, tastes, smells, feelings, and sights. As he senses his body in action, he is putting to use his proprioceptive and vestibular systems. The temperatures, textures, and types of surfaces he encounters all affect his moving experiences, The manner in which significant people in a baby’s life move, touch, and interact with him is also important. During this stage of a baby’s life, the spatial theme is personal inner body space. It is essential for him to learn how to self-regulate to create homeostasis so that his body can function smoothly and enable him to focus on external surroundings. A baby’s first movement-oriented awareness occurs when he gains some control over his internal body regulation with its neurological underpinnings. As he learns how to stabilize his senses, he becomes able to focus and to prolong his atten- tion on the stimulation he is receiving from the outside world. As a baby works on this body regulation control, his most explored move- ment qualities are tension flow fluctuations, a term referring to the shift between free and bound flow that was developed by Judith Kestenberg, the creator of the nonverbal movement analysis tool, the Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP) (Kestenberg-Amighi et al., 1999). These dualities are observed through the changes in a baby’s breath; the mus. cular tension shifts from free to tense; and the sporadic actions of his limbs jutting out into Space, created through joint flexion and exten- sion. A baby’s explorations and his growing ability to gain control of his internal multisensory system and moving body can be observed through the increasingly bright, alert state of attention in which he approaches people and other stimulating events in his environment, A Ways of Seeing + 85 baby draws people toward him because of his emotional and body states, exemplified by the ebullient, spontaneous smile that seems to suddenly burst from his face, accompanied by glittering focused eyes, and wiggling limbs. These experiences from birth to 3-6 months set the foundation for all subsequent experiences. | 3-12 Months At this broad age range, a baby begins to build on. the foundation established during the previous stage. A baby contin- ues to learn about the surrounding world through the Sensations experienced by her moving body. She is accumulating experiences that enable her to make sense of this new life. Every time she uses her body to engage in the world, she has the opportunity to strengthen muscu- lature and to increase overall body control. At this young age, engag- ing in the world is a complete physical workout! At 3 months, head control is mastered as a baby raises her head and peers over her mother’s shoulder or, while lying on her stomach, uses her forearms to lift up her chest enough to raise and then tur her head from side to side. , A baby’s natural spatial position is horizontal during these early months. Without the aid of a person or apparatus such as a car seat, swing, or baby chair, a baby physically experiences the world from a predominantly horizontal viewpoint, whether lying on her back or on her belly. A baby’s body is most often in full contact with the world as she lies prone, supine, or on her side. These very corporeal encounters with a variety of surfaces, coupled with enticing activities offered by her surroundings, spur a baby’s innate curiosity to find new ways of interacting with her world. / A baby begins to venture out into the world, first through eye gaze and focused attention, followed soon after by purposeful limb extension reaching out into space. His full body contact with surfaces provides immediate feedback as he pushes against surfaces and finds himself rolling into new positions. As he explores this pushing, he dis- covers variations that place him in a new physical and visual relation- ship with the world. A baby begins to explore crawling and may even begin walking. A baby’s choice to explore her moving body and her surrounding world provides the emotional-body theme of this age. Through this exploration a baby will increase self-awareness and knowledge about spatial surroundings, objects, and other people. ‘The most prominent movement qualities are spatial actions with einer an indirect or direct focus. Indirect actions are all-encompassing, involv- ing softer, more general sweeping actions toward a person or an object.86 + The Dancing Dislogue ‘The pathway of the movement may take a few twists and tunns belore arriving at the final destination, For example, a 4-month-old baby lying on her back way begin movement exploration by first enjoying the sensation of flexing and extending her legs out into space, She may follow this performance by grappling her toes toward her chest, which then leads to rolling over onto her side and ultimately onto her stomach. In contyast with ihe Jess specific focus of indirect movements, actions with dircet foens ere- ale a sense of specific direction. Continuing with the image of the baby who has just rolled onto her stomach, an example of direct focus would be if she now develops rapt attention to the texture of the blan- ket on which she is lying. Her legs and torso quietly rest as she props herself on her elbows and studies the feel of the edge of her blanket with her lingers. As she stays abs orbed in this exploration, time passes. Both indirect and direct movement qualities support all developmen- {al levels of growth, and both are essential in establishing a movement repertoire. ‘The indirect focus enables a baby to absorb her whole sur- roundings from all perspectives in an explorative and sponiancous manner, whereas the direct focus enables her to begin to feel controi over her actions. 9-24 Months This time period marks a baby’s move into inde- pendent and purpose mobilization—whether crawling, waiking, or rumning. To accommodate the large variation between babies’ naviga- lionai styles and abilities, this slage covers the very broad age range during which babies develop into toddiers, Around this time a baby begins to move through space in a very self-guided way. Through the eather actions of rolling and pushing, the baby had created new phys ical and visual relationships with people and bis surroundings. Now, through crawling, walking, and finally runming, the toddler plays with balance and weight-shilling, discovering his own muscle strength and body weight as ie mobilizes his entire body to pull himsell up, fal down, start, and stop. Weight is the prominent quality supporting movements of this period, involving the use of strength and lightness, The toddler creates a sense of limpness in his body weight or controls his use of weight in amore active manner to engage or resist the world. This Passive use of weight is most obvious in the toddier’s ability 10 make his body heavy a8 a way to avoid getting picked up, In contrast, the same toddler can suddenly engage his weight 10 prevent contact, quickly and actively niobilizing his body to move away Irom a parent! Ways of Seeing «87 Many complex body orientations are employed. The toddler learns how his upper body moves in relation to his lower body, how the left and right halves of his body support cach other, and how be has the abiJity fo perform more complex actions through contralateral coordination. Once he learns how to walk, he explores his body spa ually by moving from @ horizontal to a vertical relationship with his surroundings. As the toddler becomes able to stand and bear weight, | ading his legs. Through this he can create a solid base of support by spr wide stance that encompasses both vertical and horizontal spatial body statement seems 10 be saying, “Here 4 dimensions the toddler ng, “tore AMI” Fecling the physical extension of his spme along with this wide lower body base, ihe toddler takes his place among his fellow bipeds. sses forward by bal Apily labeled, a young toditley of this stage progresses | ancing weight from one jeg to the oder, shifting from side to side, with a smaller emphasis given to the forward direction ‘The emotional-body theme of this age range is the 1oddler’s bud ding sense of self-will as he sizeiches up, Ieels the full length of his sping, and gains a new appreciation of bis Lect as weight bearing, bel ancing, and mobilizing tools that suppert his eager explorations. A in dependence, coupled with his advancing s bud growing physical sense of ( ve cognitive understanding and social and communicative skills, encour- ich emphatic pronouncements as “No!” "Me age the toddler to utter \ i dol” and “1 do it!” as he attempts to accomplish more advanced tasks si time—including going up steps, climbing on chairs, and for the fi carrying his loys while walking alone. _ 18-36 Months luring this period, the older toddler begins to experience actions that move her forward and backward within what is called the sagittal plane, Movements in this plane allow a toddler the ability to mobilize hey presence and enter more deeply into the envi- ronment, Once bipedal action is fimly established, a toddler moves from the statement “Here | am” to “Tere } COMI” A toddler's body js really starting to work, taking her wherever she wants to go. Movement qualitics covering the entire spectrums of time and speed become especially prominent. A toddler may be sitting, quietly one moment and then suddenly take olf remming the next, stopping only when she encounters an obstacle such as a wall or the floor. Leaming the gradations of time-—acceleration and deceleration will take practice. Hokting, waiting, and resisting also Involve a sense of time it is no wonder that toilet training is @ prominent issuc for this age group.88 + The Dancing Dialogue By this point, the toddler has acquired many movement qualities that she can mix and match, In combining the qualities of space and time, Jor example, she can race forward directly into the living room filled with her parents’ meandering party guests, and escape from her father’s outstretched arms, creating a circuitous, helter-skelter path- way through the crowd. A toddier can explore rising up onto her toes, followed by falling down onto the floor, and then bursting back up and dashing off to a new place in the room to tumble and roll, perhaps cul- miniating her experience with an upside-down posel By the end of this stage, Uhe growing toddler can balance on one foot, hop, and jump. She can differemiate movements that require rhythmic awareness such as clapping, stamping, marching, and galloping. Toddlerhood is an exciting time filled with a sense of physicai autonomy, The toddler is beginning to establish a basic proficiency on a bodily level, with a repertoire of movements at her disposal Within a relatively short time, a toddler has gone from the station ary position that allowed her to become acquainted with her body Parts; 10 a life of activity using these body parts first Lo lift and then 10 prop herself up; to rolling, reaching, crawling, climbing, and bal- ancing: and Snally to walking and ultimately running through her surroundings. Some toddlers welcome this increased mobilization with exuberance, confidence, and even reckless abandon. Others enter life more cautiously, hesitanuy, or thoughtiully. The variations and sense of individuality of each toddier has become especially apparent (lo this author) while teaching creative dance to this age group. The following is an excerpt taken from observations of chil- dren during a class when they were given time to create solo dances in response to a selection of music: The strong reagae beat goes on, and immediately Josh jumps up, barely able to contain himself, so L ask him if he would like to go first. He responds by immediately running across the room, only stopping-and then Jus for a momrent-—as he bangs into the wall, gleefully slapping into it with his whole body. On intpact, he instantaneously uses the wall to ricochet back throughs the room, His run is so free, leaning so far forward that it seenns as if fie might actually topple down, But giggling with glee, legs shraggling out behind him, BANG! he is caught by the opposite wall and is off again, He has discovered something. The walls can act as springboards, containing and propelling his active energy, and boy is it fun! When I stop the music, he knows it is time to finish. I wateh te see if he is able to suddenly freeze and hold his passionate exuberance, He iries to stop, but he succeeds only by drop. Ways of Seeing + 89 g to the floor in one continuers moventent, sprawled out or his back. This 19 nn Pa sterface 10 help him manage his hed. eva’ dant, aves Wet rane. 8,1 ne hin 0 9 next. iassooen happens when a child is eiicouraged te expr himself . through his actions, the next child wri S10 imitate Pu ve cheer « qualities of the actions carefully, his experience will be ai fe vent ; mes fo the wail with directness and prrpese. He hold his bedy up s rag ‘i ad reaches his hands eut fo hit the wall-—anel then uses his hart ves re se sapien the iempaact wher is ful body comes ina consact wid the hard fc dais hands push hint away as he makes a beeline for te oppose wa " the mnusic stops he freezes on his twe | et without difficulty. butte, “ - remembering that Josh landed ent te floor, James suddenly ds ves wn, ‘a ont his side, aid freezes again, causing his lasing movements fo have @ “ part rhythmic quality rather than the continuous water-tike splatiering 0 Josh's culminating aetions. ; ; “Adain's train is next. He has watched Josh and Janes from his mom's Jap ees at 1 al his nae but looks back at ar, who gles Io smile and a niod before he enters the opent dance space, As the now fa ie ssi Bens etd jes 2 et vn ore a we te ron of hs dy sighted ou he. gue sie and od when gazes td aud I notice his head is slightly bobbing to the undutating reggae rly mm “On! Look how Adam's head feels the beat!” I sofily point out te the audi ence, Au sites aed inerenses his. Mouth ape, he revels his tng, wi tal eicking fo the Bea a we! We a on ut ing away. Adam beams and maintains this very articulate two-part body exploration until he music stops. ‘Toddlers have unique ways of delving into relationships with their surroundings. What they all share is the desire to be on the move com ing, going, exploring, engaging, and soaking up all there i ea 3-7 Years From 3 to 7 years of age, a young child desir I work on integrating and more elficiently modulating all of the moves ment qualities and motor skills he explored in his eatler years, He can now perforin actions requiring upperlower body avwareness on trajaieral coordination, and balancing and weight-shiiting his left a right body halves. A young child can perfect variations m his actions, He can also demonstrate a greater ability to perform these ad ™ with subile rather than extreme variations in his choice oO moveen qualities. For example, a young child is now able to walk s ow y. dren a bit faster, and finally, very fast in Uae to a changing melody, ra 1 slow or fast response to the music. This is also than being limited to a90 + The Dancing Dinlogue the period of time when a young child makes extensive social, cogni tive, and verbal communication leaps. A young ehild becomes more engaged in complex social interactions requiring a sophisticated understanding of nonverbal social cues. The experiential nature of a young child’s repertoire of movement qualities assisis him in inter- preting these nonverbal cues. Young children of this age love to prac- lice acting out a wide variety of leclings by creating imaginary play and dance scenes in which ibey embody characters from fairy tales, ielevision shows, movies, songs, books, lile events, and their own imaginations. By imbuing these characters with moods and events, young children explore how to express their own feelings. Through such explorations they learn about feelings and behaviors, as well as the nonverbal elements associated with them, The emotional-body theme of this period involves mastery of basic motor skills, movement qualities, and emotional and commu- nicative capabilities. Mastery builds confidence. A young child’s increasing ability to create a wide communicative repertoire [rom which to express himself and be genuinely understood establishes a secure sense of self, This primary but essential degree of body mas- tery provides the foundation for the advanced skills required for his complex athletic and social interactions tater in life. Through his investigation of the infinite variations and subtleties of movement qualities, @ young child begins to develop his personal movement signature. A young child’s preferred movement qualities become clearer as his more defined sense of self emerges—a sense of seil thal continues to grow into carly adulthood Role of Parenis and Primary Caregivers Children’s successes in moving through these emotional-body themes are dependent not only on their efforts but also on their experienc as they engage in their environment, Parents and other primary care- givers greatly contribute 10 how children pereeive and interpret their experiences. During the early years, these significant caregivers guide and support the growing child’s interactions with the world. Because of the co-constructed nature of attachment and interaction, nonverbal messages expressed through these carly primary relationships act as powerful communications. This can best be explained through simple exansples. Visualize a mother holding ber newborn firmly against her chest high up on her