In late September, Antioch University’s Dance/Movement Therapy program held a two-hour event in Seattle as part of a study into the transformative potential of intentional movement as a tool for fostering dialogue and understanding. Seven study participants came together on the evening of September 27 for a program led by Tomoyo Kawano, the Program Director of the Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) Program, and Olga Liapis-Muzzy, a first-year student in that program. The event was funded by the election-year initiative, Antioch Works for Democracy, and it aimed to use DMT techniques to help people navigate conversations on potentially divisive topics by promoting openness, engagement, and body awareness.
Kawano explains that studying the potential of DMT and its emphasis on the body-mind connection is especially important during this time when polarization increasingly challenges civil discourse. As Kawano says, “We were wondering if there was a way to bring back more body knowledge, body wisdom.” And, she says, they wanted to explore whether or not “Dance/Movement Therapy techniques can assist people to stay engaged or be curious and open to people who aren’t necessarily like themselves.”
An Opportunity for Connection Through Movement
Before the event, participants gathered in a community space in Seattle and completed a pre-survey designed to assess their positions on various divisive topics. This information allowed the facilitators to pair individuals with differing views, helping to create an environment where dialogue could occur between people who might not normally engage with one another. Following registration, participants enjoyed some refreshments, mingled, and prepared for the main session.
In the workshop itself, participants were introduced to basic DMT techniques, including movements designed to help them stay grounded and aware of their bodies during difficult conversations. Kawano and Liapis-Muzzy’s intention was to create an environment where participants could use DMT techniques to remain present and engaged during conversations about challenging, divisive issues.
When participants began to converse with their partners, one of the activities involved participants introducing themselves by stating their name alongside a gesture that expressed how they were feeling in that moment. While the movements were simple, they helped the participants connect with one another on a more embodied level, breaking the ice and fostering a sense of openness.
Following introductions, the participants were paired off to engage in conversations about divisive issues, with video and audio recordings capturing their interactions. Afterward, the group came back together for a debriefing session, during which they shared their experiences and reflected on how the DMT techniques had influenced their conversations.
Although the project was small in scale, the feedback from participants was encouraging. Many found that focusing on their physical sensations during the conversations helped them feel more grounded and less reactive. Some noted that they felt more open and relaxed after incorporating movement into their introductions, suggesting that even simple gestures could have a powerful effect on their ability to engage with others.
For Liapis-Muzzy, this project underscored the potential of DMT techniques in bridging divides beyond traditional therapy settings. “Even with a small group, we’re seeing how body awareness can play a huge role in helping people listen and stay engaged with one another,” she says. This experience reinforced her commitment to using DMT for community healing, with the hope of expanding this work in different regions to better understand how context affects divisive conversations.
Liapis-Muzzy’s background of over a decade in community and labor organizing brought a unique element to the project. Her work has long been engaged in helping people bridge divides through open dialogue and collective action. Through her work as a certified mediator, she realized that individual healing, alongside societal change, is crucial in conflict resolution. This realization, combined with her lifelong connection to dance as a tool for emotional processing, is what led her to pursue DMT in the first place.
The project’s findings have yet to be analyzed and written up for publication, but Kawano has already seen that they demonstrated the potential of DMT to foster understanding and connection in community settings, particularly when people are grappling with difficult or divisive topics. By helping participants stay in tune with their bodies, DMT techniques offer a way to remain present and curious, even in challenging conversations. This was valuable in keeping polarization from leading to breakdowns in communication.
Part of a Broader Mission to Decolonize Therapy and Embrace Community
This project is part of Kawano’s broader vision for Dance/Movement Therapy. Her work at Antioch is focused on decolonizing traditional therapy approaches by integrating more community-based, holistic practices. Historically, psychotherapy—including DMT—has taken place in controlled, confidential spaces like therapy rooms, with individual treatment plans and specific therapeutic goals. While effective, this model can sometimes overlook the importance of community and collective healing.
Kawano draws inspiration from the rich history of dance as a form of healing and social connection in cultures around the world. “Dance is embedded in most cultures around the world and has significance within communities,” she explains. She emphasizes that in the past—and in some cases in the present day—these dance movements and the gatherings around them had important ceremonial and social roles. “There were ways of demarcating human development—coming-of-age rituals, ceremonies, even rituals for birth and death,” she says. “These often involved music, dance, chanting, food, and other art forms that carried significance.”
For Kawano, bringing these communal aspects of dance into contemporary therapeutic approaches offers a way to expand the scope of healing beyond the individual. This project itself reflected and emphasized not only personal growth but also the role of the community in supporting individuals through different phases of life. By using DMT techniques to facilitate conversations on divisive topics, Kawano is using this project to foster a sense of collective responsibility for each other’s well-being, even across political or ideological divides.
Kawano hopes to continue exploring new ways to integrate Dance/Movement Therapy into community settings. Her work and that of her students are a testament to the power of movement and the body in healing. For Liapis-Muzzy and Kawano, this Seattle project marks the beginning of what they hope will be an ongoing exploration into how DMT can foster empathy in polarized times. Through projects like Antioch Works for Democracy, Kawano and her students are demonstrating the unique potential of Dance/Movement Therapy to bridge divides in community settings.
