Integrating Free Expression of Modern Dance into Dance Movement Therapy: A Tension-Resonance Approach between Structure and Improvisation
Dankook University, Yongin, South Korea
Abstract
The tradition of free improvisation in modern dance stands in potential tension with the structural requirements, boundaries, and safety needs that are fundamental to Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT). This study adopts a theoretical approach, employing a systematic review and textual analysis of international research and art-theoretical works to explore the philosophical and embodied foundations of improvisation and to investigate the therapeutic functions of structural mechanisms within DMT. Representative texts—including Ravn and Høffding’s enactivist analysis of improvisation, Himberg et al.’s studies on collective improvisation protocols, and Dou et al.’s empirical research on improvisation training—are analyzed as dialogical cases.
Building upon these analyses, the study proposes the Tension–Resonance Model, which emphasizes the concepts of oscillation and boundary elasticity. The model offers theoretical, pedagogical, and research-oriented insights aimed at constructing a practical framework that integrates improvisational freedom within therapeutic structure. Ultimately, the research seeks to provide an applicable pathway for DMT theory and education—one that preserves structural safety while opening new avenues for free expression and embodied creativity.
Keywords:
Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT); Modern Dance; Improvisation; Structure; Bodily Agency; TensionCopyright Notice & License:
All articles published in Global Review of Humanities, Arts, and Society (GRHAS) are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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