Image: children of Forestville Montessori School in the dance film we co-created for the UNESCO supported Danse et Paix en Partage initiative
On the weekend of the International Day of Peace and Non-Violence, I had the opportunity to present a talk on how dance can offer a pathway towards peace at the Montessori Schools and Centres Australia (MSCA) Grassroots Conference. The theme of the conference was On a Hope and a Promise: An Education for Peace.
Peace is needed now more than ever, but where and how do we begin?
While I had co-presented on this theme earlier this year with my collaborator, Kasia Ustowska-Gmerek, the state of the world had worsened since and I felt a tremendous weight presenting on such a big and complex matter.
Coming back to Dr. Montessori's words and her work grounded me back into the heart of things. Dr. Montessori deeply understood the interdependent nature of life and developed Cosmic Education, a framework that allows children to see themselves as part of a bigger whole and to experience the interconnected nature of everything in life. Her lifetime spent observing and understanding human development while living through two world wars led to developing an approach to education that centred on human flourishing and peace.
Dr. Montessori recognised that the nature of man is at the very foundation of peace:
“Peace is a practical principle of human civilization and social organisation that is based on the very nature of man.”
-Maria Montessori, Education and Peace, p.29
She pointed to the need to attend to the inner development of the human personality to develop the nature of human beings.
“...humanity has made great progress outwardly, but none inwardly…nothing has been done to further his spiritual development.”
- Maria Montessori, Education and Peace, p.44
So how does dance fit into this?
Dance cannot solve all the conflicts and violent atrocities that are currently taking place in the world. However, dance as an art form and an innate human activity has the potential to support the spiritual development of human beings; to cultivate within each of us qualities such as connectedness, the development of self awareness and an embodied understanding of unity and inter-being that can support the building of a peaceful society.
Below is a condensed version of the key ideas I presented at the MSCA Grassroots conference on how dance can offer one pathway towards peace:
Unity
Dance can act as a social glue and build solidarity and connectedness in a community through a phenomena called collective effervescence. The French sociologist Émile Durkheim, theorised that collective effervescence is at the core of what keeps a group of people united. He theorised that the euphoria, excitement and connectedness that comes from shared experiences like religious rituals, sporting and music events and, indeed, dancing together acts as a social glue.
The Body
We are embodied, biological beings. The way we experience the world is shaped by our embodied perception of the world. The way we move changes the way we think and feel about ourselves and the world around us. Changing our movement pathways can change our perspective, evoking different emotions and feelings, and can lead to new ideas and ways of understanding.
It's also interesting to note how the boundaries between each individual is also not as clear cut as it might first appear. As human beings we are drawn to move in synchrony with the movements of those around us. Without conscious awareness we tend to mirror each other’s gestures as well as the tone of voice and facial expressions. There is also the interplay of our nervous systems, known as neuroception. Our nervous systems are broadcasting to one another and are constantly shaping each other. We are much more connected and our boundaries more porous than we might think.
“...how so often, and mostly unbeknownst, our bodies are the bodies of others.”
-Ross Gay, The Book of Delights, p. 156
Connection to Self and Others
Dancing involves sensing into oneself in both stillness and movement and a connected self allows for connection with others. The first step is to be at home in your own body and, from that grounded place, connect with others.
Dancer and choreographer Anna Halprin beautifully articulated this relationship between the self and others with her I-You-We framework.
“Dance happens in social space. The individual, the I, meets and corresponds with the other, You.”
“The more sensitive the ability to sense inwards, into one’s own body, the greater the ability to attune to another person.”
-Wittmann, Schorn, Land Anna Halprin; Dance - Process - Form, p.63 and 64
Danse et Paix en Partage
An example of dance serving to promote the cause of peace can be seen in the recent initiative developed by a group of NGOs including AMI, in partnership with UNESCO: Danse et Paix en Partage. Multiple Montessori schools from around the world submitted videos of children and adolescents dancing for the cause of peace. Such an initiative highlights how dance, being non-verbal in nature, is a universal language that can traverse language and cultural barriers.
You can watch the individual videos of the groups that participated in the initiative via the website and/or enjoy the composite video below.
“We must develop the spiritual life of man and then organise humanity for peace.”
- Maria Montessori, Education and Peace p.46
I hope this post offered some food for thought regarding dance and peace. I invite you to include dance regularly into the experience of children as it can enrich their inner development, fill up their soul, and allow them to experience first hand a connectedness to their own bodies from which they can connect with others.
With love and peace,
Kei xx
Video: "Dancing for Peace"- my video contribution to the Danse et Paix en Partage initiative
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