The Communication of Emotions in Dance

In dance/movement therapy (DMT), it is a shared belief that humans can use dance movement to express themselves in ways they cannot do so with words. In research, the idea that emotions can be communicated through dance has been explored in more detail, especially in the area of music psychology. It is believed that expressive body movement encoded through dance can be distinguished from propositional movement patterns in that the movement patterns are meant to be stylized and focused expressions of the more subtle, naturalistic movement patterns associated with direct, spontaneous expressions of emotion. From the body of research people are able to express emotional content through dance, exhibiting distinct motion characteristics linked with specific emotion categories. People can recognize this content by observing dance movement, either presented fully or displayed in a more concentrated manner such as in point-light displays. However, many issues still should be taken into consideration when drawing conclusions from the existing body of research.