Integral Dance
Integral Dance（由 亞歷山大·吉爾松 創建）是一種引領我們走向更完整自我的舞蹈。它有助於我們與自身（在身體和意識層面）保持深層的聯結，以一種特殊的方式將我們與他人連接起來，幫助我們感受到我們與世界（自然和藝術）的歸屬感，以及與某種難以言喻的更高存在（精神層面）的聯結。此外，這些聯結本質上是動態的。
「『PH0』的誕生源於將舞蹈實踐視為通往身心完整的途徑，並認識到這條途徑遠不止於療愈。我喜歡這句話：好的療愈會結束，但舞蹈永無止境。」
「在我看來，治療目標應該是有目的的、情境性的、明確的——但舞蹈可以伴隨人的一生。」
「一種能夠伴隨整個人生，包含人生所有階段的舞蹈——那就是Integral Dance。」
——A. 吉爾森
Integral Dance 的核心原則
1. 身與心不可分割
任何有生命的人，無論其表現形式如何，都始終有其身體層面的體現。我們所經歷、所想、所做的一切，都與身體息息相關。大腦是身體的一部分——這是一個簡單卻至關重要的認知。
當一個人展示自己、講述自己的故事或表達自己的感受時，我們總是會觀察這些在身體層面上的表現——通過面部表情、小手勢、姿勢變化、肌肉張力變化或語調變化。
2. 人是一個過程，而非一個物體
必須將人視為一個不斷發展的多維過程。
由此原則得出的第一個結論是：此時此地存在的每一種情況都有其特定的歷史——一個人也經歷過特定的階段、發展階段和成長曆程。第二個結論是：這種情況還會繼續下去，這個故事還沒有結束。
從某種意義上說，這與存在主義對人作為未完成項目的理解不謀而合。
我們不禁要問：什麼在持續發展？什麼在持續變化？正在發生怎樣的變化？
3. 萬物皆有其舞，皆有其舞伴
這第三個原則源於前一個問題：這究竟是什麼過程？由此，我們便能領悟到舞蹈的真諦。
如果我們把舞蹈理解為一個多維度的、協調的過程，那麼為任何體驗找到合適的場所就變得非常重要。
例如：「這種情況不適合我，因為我內心深處無法接受它。」
或者：「我目前的處境限制了我，讓我無法接受正在發生的事情。」
從整體、綜合的角度來看，我們不能捨棄任何事物。從這個意義上講，我們對舞蹈的理解非常寬泛，我們可以將生活中的任何情境都視為一場舞蹈，將參與者視為舞伴。
Four Levels of Integration in Integral Dance
Dance with oneself
The core values of Integral Dance are freedom, creativity, wholeness, and care (first and foremost — self-care).
Listening to one’s own rhythm, listening to one’s deep desire, listening to one’s authenticity — these are the qualities a person learns.
And naturally, when a person learns to care for themselves, they begin to build relationships with others in a qualitatively different way.
True self-care is the ability to be free and to create.
Dance with another
At the most basic level, every person has a deep sense of being: 「I exist, and I have the right to exist.」
I exist, and that is enough.
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.
