Integral Dance
Integral Dance (edalwe ngu-U-Alexander Girshon) umdanso oholela ekupheleleni okukhulu. Kusiza ukugcina uxhumano olujulile nawe (esilinganisweni somzimba nokuqonda), kusixhumanisa nabanye ngendlela ekhethekile, kusiza ukuzizwa singabomhlaba (emvelweni nasebuciko), kanye nokuthile okukhulu okunzima ukukuveza ngamazwi (esilinganisweni esingokomoya). Ngaphezu kwalokho, lokhu kuxhumana kuyashintshashintsha ngokwemvelo.
“Integral Dance kwavela esifisweni sokubonakalisa umdanso njengendlela eya ekupheleleni, nasekuqondeni ukuthi indlela enjalo ingaphezu kokwelapha. Ngithanda isisho esithi: Ukwelapha okuhle kuyaphela, kodwa umdanso awunamkhawulo.”
"Imigomo yokwelapha, njengoba ngiyibona, inenhloso, ihambisana nezimo, ichazwe ngokucacile - kodwa umdanso ungahambisana nokuphila komuntu wonke."
Umdanso ongahambisana nokuphila komuntu wonke, nakho konke okukuqukethe — lokho kuyi-Integral Dance.”
— A. Girshon
Izimiso Eziyinhloko ze-Integral Dance
1. Umzimba kanye nokuqonda akuhlukaniseki
Yonke indlela umuntu abonakala ngayo, kungakhathaliseki ukuthi uziveza kanjani, ihlala inomfanekiso womzimba. Konke esikubonayo, esikucabangayo, nesikunqumayo kuyabonakala. Ubuchopho buyingxenye yomzimba - lokhu kuwukuqonda okulula kodwa okubalulekile.
Uma umuntu eziveza, elandisa indaba yakhe, noma eveza imizwa yakhe, sihlala sibheka ukuthi lokhu kubonakala kanjani ezingeni lomzimba - ngokusebenzisa ubuso, ukushukuma okuncane, ukushintshashintsha kwendlela yokuma, izinguquko emisipheni, noma iphimbo lezwi.
2. Umuntu uyinqubo, hhayi into
Kubalulekile ukubona umuntu njengenqubo ethuthukayo enezici eziningi.
Isiphetho sokuqala esivela kulesi simiso: zonke izimo ezikhona lapha namanje ezinomlando othile — umuntu udlule ezigabeni ezithile, ezigabeni, nasezigabeni zentuthuko. Isiphetho sesibili: lesi simo sizoqhubeka, le ndaba ayikapheli.
Ngomqondo othile, lokhu kuhambisana nokuqonda komuntu njengomsebenzi ongakaqedwa.
Siyabuza: Yini eqhubekayo ukuhamba? Yini eqhubekayo ukushintsha? Yimuphi inqubo eqhubekayo?
3. Kukho konke, umuntu angabona umdanso futhi abalingani bokunyakaza
Lesi simiso sesithathu sivela embuzweni odlule: Iyini le nqubo? Futhi nansi sifika ekudanseni.
Uma siqonda umdanso njengenqubo ehlanganisa izinhlangothi eziningi, ehlelekile, kubalulekile ukuthola indawo efanele yanoma yiluphi ulwazi.
Isibonelo: “Lesi simo asingifanele ngoba ingxenye ethile yami ayikho endaweni lapho ngingasamukela khona.”
Noma: "Isikhundla engikuso siyangivimbela futhi asingivumeli ukuthi ngamukele okwenzekayo."
Ngombono ophelele nophelele, asinakulahla lutho. Ngale ndlela, siqonda umdanso ngendlela ebanzi ngempela, futhi singabheka noma yisiphi isimo empilweni njengomdanso, kanye nabahlanganyeli bawo njengabalingani emjikelezweni.
Amazinga Amane Okuhlanganiswa ku-Integral Dance
Dansa nawe
Izindinganiso eziyinhloko ze-Integral Dance yinkululeko, ubuhlakani, ukuphelela, kanye nokunakekela (okokuqala nokubaluleke kakhulu — ukuzinakekela).
Ukulalela isigqi sakho, ukulalela isifiso sakho esijulile, ukulalela ubuqiniso bakho — lezi yizimfanelo umuntu azifundayo.
Futhi ngokwemvelo, lapho umuntu efunda ukuzinakekela, uqala ukwakha ubudlelwano nabanye ngendlela ehlukile ngokwezinga.
Ukuzinakekela kwangempela yikhono lokukhululeka nokudala.
Dansa nomunye
Ezingeni eliyisisekelo, wonke umuntu unomuzwa ojulile wokuba khona: “Ngikhona, futhi nginelungelo lokuba khona.”
Ngikhona, futhi lokho kwanele.
From here — if I exist, I can feel, and I can act. I have the right to feel and the right to act.
The next circle of integration is connection with the Other.
There can be no integration that is purely individual.
It cannot be that I am whole by myself, but in relationship with others I immediately lose this state.
If a person is truly whole, this extends to the quality of their relationships with others — in which, if one wishes, one can always see partners for movement.
Dance with the world
This means that I have my own place in the world, and I am at peace with it — my place in society, in culture, and in nature.
It means that I have a certain connection with nature — one that feels right for me.
These can be very simple things: for example, a person enjoys walking in the park and intuitively knows when it’s time to go there.
Or perhaps they feel a deep connection with a certain element or force of nature.
Connection with the world also manifests as connection with culture — in the sense that I truly understand which culture influences me, which culture I belong to, and why my tastes and preferences are what they are.
This is what integration means: what I do in society corresponds to my inner sense of self, and there is no strong contradiction between them.
There may be compromises or crises that I go through, but strategically I am in my right place in this world.
Dance with eternity
Most people who practice dance note that at times they encounter an inner experience that is difficult to express in words — as if part of it cannot be verbalized and lies beyond our consciousness.
If a person has experienced a powerful, vivid state through dance, it needs to be integrated — to find its place and meaning.
What place does it occupy? Where can it be of use, and what nourishes it in return?
Integral Dance provides space for this sacred side of the dance experience, creating a field for calm and clear understanding — where it leads and why it is needed.
Main Tools of Integral Dance
- Integral Dance-Movement Therapy
- Integral Somatics
- Integral Performance and Improvisation
- Dance as a Spiritual Practice
The foundation of Integral Dance is built upon several different schools of improvisation and improvisational performance on one hand, and body-centered therapy on the other. Dance therapy itself treats movement as a language of communication between therapist and client. Establishing non-verbal therapeutic relationships is the essence of classical dance therapy.
Another cornerstone of Integral Dance is Authentic Movement. Interestingly, Authentic Movement is both a separate discipline and, at the same time, already carries a sense of integrality. It can serve as a therapeutic tool, it can be a personal practice—sometimes for stress management, sometimes to support creativity, sometimes to address personal challenges, and sometimes simply because the process itself is valuable. It is also a spiritual practice. At least in the form practiced by Janet Adler, the Discipline of Authentic Movement is a modern mystical practice. Both aspects—the therapeutic and the spiritual—are explored in A. Girshon’s book Stories Told by the Body.
A significant body of knowledge emerged after classical dance-movement therapy, particularly in the 1970s–1990s, through somatic techniques. These, on one hand, share much with dance-movement approaches but are positioned under a different label. Somatic therapists often have separate professional associations, use somewhat different tools, and draw on a distinct knowledge base. Yet the foundations and goals are very similar. The somatic approach has significantly enriched the understanding of dance, movement, and human development. It also integrates well with discoveries in neuroscience—a field that must be incorporated today. Naturally, dance therapy and psychotherapy in general strive to understand and integrate this knowledge, relating it to practical therapeutic techniques.
Additionally, there are practices not focused on creativity or therapy per se, but rather on dance as ritual or prayer—dance as a form of spiritual practice.
Thus, Integral Dance draws on many foundations: improvisation, therapy itself, authentic movement, dance as a spiritual practice, and somatic or body-oriented approaches. Integral Dance is a process that helps us understand how all these elements relate to one another. By combining these forms of knowledge, we can more clearly and accurately—and most importantly, while staying connected to ourselves and our intentions—use Integral Dance for self-discovery, personal development, and enhancing our engagement with life.
