With the four leading candidates in this year’s presidential contest having been an African-American, a female, a Mormon, and a 72 year-old, diversity in our society has been a hot topic. As the United States is on the cusp of this historical election, hundreds will gather in Austin, Texas bringing their various backgrounds to share in a common ground; the therapeutic nature of dance and movement.
Dance/Movement Therapy for a Diverse Society: Evidence and Ideas, the American Dance Therapy Association’s (ADTA) 43rd annual conference, will be held at the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin, Texas, October 30-November 2, 2008.
As an evidence-based mental health discipline, the conference will examine the impact of dance/movement therapy in a pluralistic society, and what more there is to learn through research, study, and professional preparation. The conference begins Thursday evening following pre-conference seminars. The weekend is filled with workshops, lectures, panel presentations, and a research poster session, all exploring various topics addressing cross-cultural applications of dance/movement therapy. The 14th annual international panel presentation with renowned speakers from over 15 countries will highlight Dance Therapy in Diverse Societies. The Marian Chace Foundation will honor accomplished dance/movement therapist, and Texas native Carolyn Grant Fay. The conference will conclude Sunday morning with a movement choir promising to magically weave together events of the conference and honor specific ADTA members.
In a world needing to find common ground in multiplicity more than ever, now is the time to gain further understanding of a language that transcends culture and borders: movement and dance. Dance/movement therapists have a unique, in-depth, understanding of how the body, mind, and soul interact in health and illness, and how dance provides symbolic expression and transformation that improves emotional, behavioral, medical, and physical conditions for a healthier society at large. -- www.adta.org
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