The present study has been carried out to investigate the effects of group-based Turkish folkloric dances on physical performance, balance, depression and quality of life (QoL) in 40 healthy adult elderly females over the age of 65 years. Subjects were randomly allocated into Group 1 (folkloric dance-based exercise) and Group 2 (control). A 8-week dance-based exercise program was performed. Outcome measures included a 20-m walk test, a 6-min walk test, stair climbing and chair rise time, Berg balance scale (BBS), the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-item short form health survey (SF-36), and geriatric depression scale (GDS) questionnaires. In Group 1 statistically significant improvements were found in most of the physical performance tests, BBS and some SF-36 subscales after the exercise (p<0.05). In the Group 2 there was no clinically significant change in the variables. Comparing the groups, significant improvements in favor of Group 1 have emerged in most of the functional performance tests, in some of the SF-36 subscales and BBS score (p<0.05). We achieved improvements in physical performance, balance and QoL in elderly females. Application of folkloric dance specific to countries as an exercise program for elderly people may be helpful.

This article provides evidence of a culturally specific dance intervention to decrease obesity as measured by body fat and body mass index (BMI) in African American women. A community partnership was formed with two African American churches to develop an intervention to address the issue of obesity. The culturally specific dance intervention was delivered two times per week for 8 weeks, choreographed to gospel music selected by the experimental group participants, and taught by an African American woman. Body fat and BMI were assessed at three time points and revealed significant differences between the two groups. Attending a minimum of 7 classes was enough to show an observed dose effect and the intervention was found to be culturally specific by understanding their roles as African American women. This community partnership was an effective way to promote a church-based, culturally specific dance intervention to improve the health of African American women.

A pilot research study was conducted at 2 cancer centers in Connecticut to determine the effect of a dance and movement program on quality of life and shoulder function in breast cancer survivors treated within the prior 5 years. Thirty-five women completed the trial that included a 12-week intervention, using The Lebed Method, Focus on Healing Through Movement and Dance. The study design was a randomized control trial with a wait list control group crossover to active treatment in weeks 13 to 25, with the treatment group receiving the program in weeks 1 to 12, and no program in weeks 13 to 25. Outcome measures were the Breast Cancer Quality of Life (FACT-B), Shoulder range of motion (ROM), and Body Image Scale. FACT-B significantly improved in the intervention group at 13 weeks from 102.0 +/- 15.8 to 116.7 +/- 16.9, compared to the wait list group 108.1 +/- 16.4 to 107.1 +/- 21.3 (time x group effect, P = .008). During the crossover phase, the FACT-B score increased in the wait list group and was stable in the treatment group. The overall effect of the training at 26 weeks was significant (time effect, P = .03), and the order of training was also significant (P = .015). Shoulder ROM increased in both groups at 13 weeks--15 degrees and 8 degrees in the intervention and wait list groups (Time effect, P = .03; time x group, P = .58). Body Image improved similarly in both groups at 13 weeks (time effect, P = .001; time x group, P = .25), and at 26 weeks. There was no significant effect of the order of training for these outcome measures. A dance movement program that addressed the physical and emotional needs of women following treatment for breast cancer substantially improved a breast cancer-specific quality-of-life measure. Larger studies are justified to determine the acceptability of this therapy as part of the continuum of care for breast cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE: To test the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of after-school dance classes and a family-based intervention to reduce television viewing, thereby reducing weight gain, among African-American girls.

DESIGN: Twelve-week, 2-arm parallel group, randomized controlled trial.

SETTING: Low-income neighborhoods. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-one 8-10-year-old African-American girls and their parents/guardians. INTERVENTIONS: The treatment intervention consisted of after-school dance classes at 3 community centers, and a 5-lesson intervention, delivered in participants' homes, and designed to reduce television, videotape, and video game use. The active control intervention consisted of disseminating newsletters and delivering health education lectures.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Implementation and process measures, body mass index, waist circumference, physical activity measured by accelerometry, self-reported media use, and meals eaten with TV.

RESULTS: Recruitment and retention goals were exceeded. High rates of participation were achieved for assessments and intervention activities, except where transportation was lacking. All interventions received high satisfaction ratings. At follow up, girls in the treatment group, as compared to the control group, exhibited trends toward lower body mass index (adjusted difference = -.32 kg/m2, 95% confidence interval [CI] -.77, .12; Cohen's d = .38 standard deviation units) and waist circumference (adjusted difference = -.63 cm, 95% CI -1.92, .67; d = .25); increased after-school physical activity (adjusted difference = 55.1 counts/minute, 95% CI -115.6, 225.8; d = .21); and reduced television, videotape, and video game use (adjusted difference = -4.96 hours/week, 95% CI -11.41, 1.49; d = .40). The treatment group reported significantly reduced household television viewing (d = .73, P = .007) and fewer dinners eaten while watching TV (adjusted difference = -1.60 meals/week, 95% CI -2.99, -.21; d = .59; P = .03). Treatment group girls also reported less concern about weight (d = .60; P = .03), and a trend toward improved school grades (d = .51; P = .07).

CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of using dance classes and a family-based intervention to reduce television viewing, thereby reducing weight gain, in African-American girls.

This study assessed the profiles of psychological health and changes in neurohormones of adolescents with mild depression after 12 weeks of dance movement therapy (DMT). Forty middle school seniors (mean age: 16 years old) volunteered to participate in this study and were randomly assigned into either a dance movement group (n = 20) or a control group (n = 20). All subscale scores of psychological distress and global scores decreased significantly after the 12 weeks in the DMT group. Plasma serotonin concentration increased and dopamine concentration decreased in the DMT group. These results suggest that DMT may stabilize the sympathetic nervous system. In conclusion, DMT may be effective in beneficially modulating concentrations of serotonin and dopamine, and in improving psychological distress in adolescents with mild depression.

Elderly persons are often depressive; thus they are in loss of desire and motivation. They don't take care anymore of themselves and seem disembodied. It is exactly on this loss of desire that arts therapies have an impact. This involvement of the body facilitates the awareness of one's often unexploited capacities but also allows the emergence of pleasure and finally desire. Arts therapies are based on the conscience of here and now, with the perspective to become a creative being. It is the matter of helping people to recognize their own creativity that was underestimated by themselves up to here. These sessions allow the patients to go out of their room while bringing them a sensation of relaxation and well-being. They are proud to produce something by themselves and recover thus a certain self-esteem. And, through this activity, they are able to express what they feel. The statistical computations are made with the data of 10 elderly persons aged 77 to 95 years. We analyze the rating scales for self-expression through movement during 10 sessions. The subjects also filled in the Campbell's Index of Well-being in T1 and T2. Arts therapies improve in a significant way the cognitive functioning and the psychological well-being of elderly persons, as well as their quality of life.

OBJECTIVE:To see whether dance therapy was more effective than conventional exercise in exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with chronic heart failure.

DESIGN AND METHODS:Systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, EMBASE, SPORT Scielo, CINAHL (from the earliest date available to August 2013) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), examining effects of dance therapy versus exercise and/or dance therapy versus control on exercise capacity (VO2peak), and quality-of-life (QOL) in chronic heart failure. Two reviewers selected studies independently. Weighted mean differences (WMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and heterogeneity was assessed using the I(2) test.

RESULTS:Two studies met the study criteria (62 dance therapy patients, 60 exercise patients and 61 controls patients). The results suggested that dance therapy compared with control had a positive impact on peak VO2 and HRQOL. Dance therapy resulted in improvement in: peak VO2 peak weighted mean difference (4.86 95% CI: 2.81 to 6.91) and global HRQOL standardized mean differences (2.09 95% CI: 1.65 to 2.54). Non-significant difference in VO2 peak and HRQOL for participants in the exercise group compared with dance therapy. No serious adverse events were reported.

CONCLUSIONS:Dance therapy may improve peak VO2 and HRQOL in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and could be considered for inclusion in cardiac rehabilitation programmes.

Dance/movement therapy (DMT) interventions, if designed to promote cultural relevance and community ownership, may enhance healing among African adolescent survivors of war and organised violence. The author posits a theoretical rationale for body movement-based approaches to psychosocial rehabilitation, and offers DMT's holism as evidence of transcultural applicability. Two distinct DMT iniatives with this population are discussed in terms of theoretical assumptions, implementation, and outcomes. Both efforts afforded creative means for discharging aggression and restoring interpersonal connection. The first of these programes engaged a community of South Sudanese refugee youths, resettled to the U.S., in a series of gatherings for traditional dancing and drumming that reconstituted a central culture-of-origin ritual. Anectodal evidence supports this psychosocial intervention's emphasis on group cohesion as a vehicle with both preventive and reparative capacities. Also a series of DMT groups with youths in Sierra Leone. All organized several years post-conflict, these interventions involved applying the DMT modality within a framework of Western psychotherapeutic conventions described in a series of groups with youths, all organized several years post-conflict, is presented. Programe evaluation revealed a drop in average symptom expression among a group comprised of former boy combatants who reported continual reduction in symptoms of anxiety, depression, intrusive recollection, elevated arousal, and aggression. The group's teenage males joined actively in improvisatory dancing and in other structured creative exercices. Theese former child soldiers later elected to demonstrate their wartime experiences through public presentation of a role-play. A report on this event illustrates the success of the process in overcoming stigma and enabling meaningful community reintegration. Thus, whether introduced in refuge or post-conflict, DMT approaches are shown to embody revitalizing psychosocial support in the aftermath of massive violence.

PURPOSE: Dance/movement therapy is introduced as a holistic approach to children's health issues, incorporating an array of medical, psychological, social, and spiritual issues.

OVERVIEW: Dance/movement therapy, with its unique emphasis on nonverbal communication in assessment and treatment, is presented as an innovative therapeutic approach to address the comprehensive needs of children and adolescents with cancer. Dance/movement therapy assessment and intervention strategies are discussed in the context of cognitive, emotional, and social developmental processes, as well as models of stress and psychological adjustment in pediatric cancer.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The inclusion of dance/movement therapy as part of the interdisciplinary team addressing the psychosocial needs of children and adolescents with cancer facilitates greater integration of factors related to coping. By its very nature, this modality offers constructs that promote holistic approaches to cancer care.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Loss of balance is a major risk factor for falls in the elderly, and physical exercise may improve balance in both elderly and middle-aged people. We propose a clinical trial to test the efficacy of an exercise program based on dance in improving balance in adult and young old subjects.

METHODS: We carried out a mono-institutional, randomized, controlled clinical trial. 40 subjects (aged 58 to 68 yr) were randomly allocated in two separate groups: the exercise group (n = 20) followed a 3-month exercise program; the control group (n = 20) did not engage in physical activities. Differences in balance between the end of the training period and the baseline were assessed using four different balance tests: Tinetti, Romberg, improved Romberg, Sit up and go.

RESULTS: Results showed a significant improvement in balance in the exercise group at the end of the exercise program, whereas the control group did not show any significant changes. The comparison between exercise and control group variations in balance test scores showed a highly significant difference. 17 out of 20 subjects in the exercise group reported great or moderate satisfaction with the dance activity.

CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that physical activity based on dance may improve balance and hence be a useful tool in reducing the risk of falling in the elderly. The exercise program also revealed interesting psychosocial benefits.

AIMS: Cultural activities, including music, singing and dance, have often been conceptualised as enhancing well-being as well as promoting mental and physical health. This paper focuses on partnered dance in the context of 'cultures of fitness'. Its purpose was to investigate the dancers of tango Argentino, and to explore potential health benefits in this group.

METHODS: Participants (N=110) completed a self-developed inventory, which was, in part, based on interviews and observations as a participant observer. The inventory addresses educational, musical, and socio-economic background, motivation for and investment in dancing tango, and other leisure activities.

RESULTS: Dancers are characterized by high-level education and socio-economic status. Motivation appears to be predominantly driven by both hedonistic and social factors, accounting altogether for nearly 60% of the variance. The majority of individuals started dancing tango only in their 30s. Physical investment in terms of time and money indicate tango dancing as a highly important activity that seems to involve substantial opportunity of moderate physical exercise, social interaction and emotional reward. In consequence, tango dance was identified as the primary leisure activity.

CONCLUSIONS: Tango dancers were identified as highly educated individuals, who are dedicated to the practice in many respects, including physical and emotional. They draw from similar motivations as compared to participants of other musical activities such as singing and listening to music. Notably, aspects of physical fitness are more prominent in this group. The intensity with which tango is practised seems to depend to some degree on individual lifestyles. Taken together, the results suggest a high degree of personal involvement in tango dance as a primary leisure activity. Implications of partnered dance for social, emotional, and physical well-being and health promotion demand further research.

PURPOSE: Dance may improve functional mobility in individuals with mild-to-moderate Parkinson disease (PD), yet dance effects in severe PD remain unexamined. This study's purpose was to evaluate the feasibility and effects of partnered tango classes on balance, endurance and quality of life in an individual with severe PD.

DESIGN: Over 10 weeks, the participant attended 20, 1-h tango classes for individuals with PD. Balance, walking, and quality of life were evaluated before and after the intervention and at a 1-month follow-up in this single case design. Caregiver burden was also assessed at all time points.

RESULTS: The participant improved on the Berg Balance Scale, 6-min walk test, and functional reach. He reported increased balance confidence and improved quality of life as measured by the Parkinson Disease Questionnaire-39 summary index. Gains were maintained at the 1-month follow-up. Caregiver burden increased from baseline immediately post-intervention and at follow-up.

CONCLUSION: Twenty partnered tango lessons improved balance, endurance, balance confidence, and quality of life in a participant with severe PD. This is the first report of the use of dance as rehabilitation for an individual with advanced disease who primarily used a wheelchair for transportation.

BACKGROUND: Dance and yoga have been shown to produce improvements in psychological well-being.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine some of the psychological and neuroendocrine response to these activities.

METHODS: Sixty-nine healthy college students participated in one of three 90-min classes: African dance (n = 21), Hatha yoga (n= 18), or a biology lecture as a control session (n = 30). Before and after each condition participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), completed the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule, and provided a saliva sample for cortisol. RESULTS: There were significant reductions in PSS and negative affect (ps < .0001) and Time x Treatment interactions (ps < .0001) such that African dance and Hatha yoga showed significant declines, whereas there was no significant change in biology lecture. There was no significant main effect for positive affect (p = .53), however there was a significant interaction effect (p < .001) such that positive affect increased in African dance, decreased in biology lecture, and did not change significantly in Hatha yoga. There was a significant main effect for salivary cortisol (p < .05) and a significant interaction effect (p < .0001) such that cortisol increased in African dance, decreased in Hatha yoga, and did not change in biology. Changes in cortisol were not significantly related to changes in psychological variables across treatments. There was 1 significant interaction effect (p = .04) such that change in positive affect and change in cortisol were negatively correlated in Hatha yoga but positively correlated in Africa dance and biology.

CONCLUSIONS: Both African dance and Hatha yoga reduced perceived stress and negative affect. Cortisol increased in African dance and decreased in Hatha yoga. Therefore, even when these interventions produce similar positive psychological effects, the effects may be very different on physiological stress processes. One factor that may have particular salience is that amount of physiological arousal produced by the intervention.

BACKGROUND: There have been many debates about the use of some atypical antipsychotic drugs in managing agitation in dementia care. Much research has also been carried out in the area of psychosocial interventions, which can include dance therapy. AIM: To evaluate Wu Tao dance therapy as an intervention for dementia and assess its impact on agitation.

METHOD: A four-week pilot was carried, involving six clients with dementia attending dance sessions with members of staff in a residential dementia care facility. Agitation was measured using the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI).

RESULTS: Agitation scores were reduced in four out of six residents and there was an overall average reduction of 6.16 in pre and post scores on the CMAI. The therapy lifted the spirits of both residents and staff, and a therapeutic bond between the two groups developed.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Wu Tao is an experience for all, and it is possible that this therapy can reduce agitation and bring life and fun to residential facilities.

In order to compare the physiological effects of an 8 week aerobic dance program to those of a walk-jog exercise training program, 60 male and female University employees ages 24-48 years were randomly assigned to an aerobic dance program (N = 22), a walk-jog program (N = 24), or a sedentary control group (N = 15). Subjects who had an exercise compliance rate less than or equal to 85% were dropped from the study, as were control subjects who had scheduling conflicts or illnesses precluding post-treatment testing. Thirty-five subjects completed the 8 week period with a compliance rate greater than or equal to 85%, leaving 14 in the aerobics group, 11 in the walk-jog group and 10 in the control group. Significant increases (p less than 0.001) in maximal oxygen uptake occurred in both the aerobics (+3.9 ml/kg-1/min-1) and walk-jog group (+3.4 ml/kg-1/min-1), while no significant change was observed in the control group. Peak heart rate decreased significantly (p less than 0.05) in the aerobics (-4 b/min-1) and walk-jog groups (-3 b/min-1 but was unchanged in the control group (-1 b/min-1) following the treatment period. Body weight, peak respiratory exchange ratio and peak minute ventilation remained the same in the aerobics, walk-jog and control groups throughout the treatment period. It is concluded that aerobic dance programs can result in similar improvements in aerobic power as a walk-jog program. Thus, an aerobic dance program is an effective alternative to a traditional walk-jog training regime.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this pilot study was to determine the effects of short duration, intensive tango lessons on functional mobility in people with Parkinson disease. DESIGN: This study employed a within-subject, prospective, repeated measures design.

SUBJECTS/PATIENTS: Fourteen people with idiopathic Parkinson disease participated. SETTING: All balance and gait assessments were performed in a laboratory, but dance classes took place in a large, open classroom.

INTERVENTIONS: Participants completed ten 1.5-h long Argentine tango dance lessons within 2 weeks. Their balance, gait and mobility were assessed before and after the training sessions.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Measures included the Berg Balance Scale, the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale, gait velocity, functional ambulation profile, step length, stance and single support percent of gait, Timed Up and Go, and the 6 min walk.

RESULTS: Participants significantly improved on the Berg Balance Scale (effect size (ES)=0.83, p=0.021), Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale Motor Subscale III (ES=-0.64, p=0.029), and percent of time spent in stance during forward walking (ES=0.97, p=0.015). Non-significant improvements were noted on the Timed Up and Go (ES=-0.38, p=0.220) and 6 min walk (ES=0.35, p=0.170).

CONCLUSIONS: Frequent social dance lessons completed within a short time period appear to be appropriate and effective for these individuals with mild-moderately severe Parkinson disease.

Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) often experience isolation and poor health, but normalized social opportunities aid recovery. This study aimed to determine social dance's feasibility and effects on mood, functional mobility, and balance confidence in 12 people with SMI. Participants danced once per week in 1-hour lessons for 10 weeks. Before and after lessons, participants were evaluated for gait velocity and with one-leg stance, Timed Up and Go, and 6-minute walk tests. Participants self-completed Beck Depression II and Beck Anxiety Inventories and the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale. Posttesting included an exit questionnaire assessing participant experiences. Participants significantly improved on the Timed Up and Go, (p = 0.012, effect size = 0.68), and demonstrated nonsignificant improvements in anxiety, depression, and balance confidence (effect sizes of 0.41, 0.54, and 0.64, respectively). Participants reported enjoying classes, and interest to continue. Social dance is feasible and may benefit mobility for those with SMI.

The purpose of this pilot study is to assess the impact of a senior jazz dance class on static balance for healthy women over 50 years of age using the NeuroCom Smart Balance Master System (Balance Master). A total of 12 healthy women aged 54-88 years completed a 15-week jazz dance class which they attended 1 time per week for 90 min per class. Balance data were collected using the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) at baseline (pre), at 7 weeks (mid), and after 15 weeks (post). An equilibrium score measuring postural sway was calculated for each of six different conditions. The composite equilibrium score (all six conditions integrated to 1 score) was used as an overall measure of balance. Repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to compare the means of each participant's SOT composite equilibrium score in addition to the equilibrium score for each individual condition (1-6) across the 3 time points (pre, mid, post). There was a statistically significant difference among the means, p<.0005. Pairwise (Bonferroni) post hoc analyses revealed the following statistically significant findings for SOT composite equilibrium scores for the pre (67.33 + 10.43), mid (75.25 + 6.97), and post (79.00 + 4.97) measurements: premid (p = .008); prepost (p<.0005); midpost (p = .033). In addition, correlational statistics were used to determine any relationship between SOT scores and age. Results indicated that administration of a 15-week jazz dance class 1 time per week was beneficial in improving static balance as measured by the Balance Master SOT.