The Ballet School of Colombo has seen thousands of dancers come and go throughout their longstanding history. They believe in inclusivity and unity through dance. In honour of World Autism Awareness Day, the senior students of school are to perform a dance to raise awareness of the condition and how dance is proven to be a popular therapeutic method for those struggling with autism.
Speaking to the ballet mistresses of The Ballet School of Colombo, Tara Cooke and Romina Gyi, they explained how dance movement therapy has recently made its mark as a possible treatment option for those with autism. Dance movement therapy uses movement to enhance emotions, behaviours, and motor skills. People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often less or not aware of their mind and body. Dance movement therapy uses bodily sensations to stimulate and re-establish the mind-body connection, which in turn helps them to return to harmony. Many pieces of research and studies have supported the positive effects of dance movement therapy on people with autism.
They added that the dance to raise awareness will be recorded in the studio and posted on their social media pages for anyone to view. In honour of World Autism Day, the dancers will be adorned in the colour blue to represent the struggles faced by people with autism.
The benefits of dance
Dance provides a platform for people diagnosed with autism to build their social skills, which helps them further understand the emotions and feelings of others.
Commenting on the benefits of dance, they stated: “Autism is yet another medical condition that uses dance as a form of therapy. Children with ASD are often less or not aware of their mind and body. So dance helps them to express their emotions better, through movement, and improve their level of concentration and attention while enhancing social interaction skills.
So we wanted to take this opportunity to educate everyone about the importance of dance and its many benefits.”
Talking about the overall benefits of dance, Cooke and Gyi explained that it improves one’s memory and concentration whilst building confidence as well as enhancing creative and cognitive skills. Dance also helps strengthen motor skills, thus assisting in proper physical growth in children.
“Dance is something that is medically proven to be beneficial. The joys of dancing affects us both physically and mentally. It’s a positive boost to our overall wellbeing. So it’s not just movements and exercise; it’s a way of life,” they added.
What’s new?
Currently, The Ballet School of Colombo is the first and only school that is a part of the Commonwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing (CSTD), and they are the only school that, at the moment, is eligible to offer the exam curriculums that the CSTD carry. “We currently offer classical and jazz ballet exams but hope to introduce curriculums such as tap, lyrical, hip hop, and theatrical, which will be rolled out soon.”
They added that once the students partake in these exams, they will be the first in the country to have such a qualification.
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