Tamara Gavin

Publication Date

1996

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Carter, Charles L.

Degree Name

M.S. (Master of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of Physical Education

LCSH

Dance therapy; Violence; Dancers--Attitudes

Abstract

This study attempted to discover if the attitudes of dancers could be changed regarding violence in society through the use of choreography and improvisation and was based on the theories of dance therapy. It was hypothesized that by exposing dancers to violence through self-directed improvisation, set choreography by the researcher, and group improvisation, all motivated by given scenarios, their attitudes would change toward this current issue in society. The subjects were chosen by a convenience sampling and were college-aged females who were enrolled in at least one daily dance class. The subjects were divided into a control and a treatment group. The treatment group participated in rehearsals consisting of 40-50 total hours where the dancers worked for 2- 3 hours, 2-3 times weekly. All subjects in both groups took A Violence Scale attitude inventory before the start of the treatment, and after the last rehearsal. A Violence Scale consisted of 25 statements about violence which the subjects had to score according to a Likert scale: 0=lowest approval of violence and 100=highest approval of violence. The results of the attitude inventory yielded no significant difference between the post-test scores of the two groups, indicating that the treatment did not change the attitudes of the dancers. Subjective interviews, however, suggested that the treatment was affective, but did not treat the issues measured by the attitude inventory. Further research should be conducted using a different measurement instrument.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references (pages [43]-45)

Extent

iii, 51 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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