Integrating Mindfulness Interventions in Contemporary Dance Pedagogy

The dance education of the previous centuries focused mainly on educating the body by teaching extremely codified dance techniques. However, from the last decades of the 20th century, new approaches emerged as dance education began considering the development of the artist as an integrated being.Mindfulness-based interventions can be considered a valuable pedagogical strategy, which can enable dancers to establish a more intimate relationship with their whole human dimension. The Mindfulness that it is going to be discussed refers to a set of secular practices, rooted in the Vipassana Meditation, where one purposely focuses the attention on the present moment considering some specific attitudes, among others acceptance and non-judgment.In our Western culture, Mindfulness is becoming increasingly popular outside of its traditional Buddhist frame and the Mindfulness-based interventions are currently being promoted in various contexts: from hospitals to business, sport, schools and even prisons. The aim of this paper is therefore to offer a peculiar and very specific perspective, relevant to sustain a career in a very physically, mentally and emotionally demanding art form

Autorentext

Teresa Ranieri holds a BFA and Master degree in Dance Pedagogy and Movements Research from the Institute of Dance Art at the Bruckner University in Linz (Austria). Beside that, she is a certified Mindfulness teacher (MBSR). After a long career as dancer-performer, she is now an internationally acclaimed teacher and choreographer.