DANCING WITH THE GUYS AT MAGNOLIA RIDGE

Creative Dance in Addiction Recovery

By Liz Borromeo

In July of 2022 I moved from Vancouver, WA to Johnson City, TN where I have family and the need to be close and supportive of them. I handed over my dance studio space in Washington to rising dance education leaders there and have started from scratch here in NE Tennessee. I’ve continued to work remotely with MOTUS, my youth dance company in Vancouver, via Zoom.

A new Tennessee friend heard me chatting about creative dance and the braincompatible approach, and she told me that she worked in the recovery program at Magnolia Ridge. She was really interested in hearing more about this way of teaching and learning. I had been pounding the pavement at various studios and organizations and I was excited about the possibility of getting to share dance with folks who I hoped would benefit in so many ways from experiencing it.

My sessions started in October. I have a group of 20-25 men for an hour on Fridays. Magnolia Ridge is designed for short-term treatment with the hope that the men continue their recovery outside of the residential situation. I sometimes see participants a few times but often I work with a brand new group every time.

Each Friday, the guys start with good bit of hesitancy and a little bit of curiosity. They often try to “test” me a bit to see if I can be trusted. This is a group of people who have had hard lives for many reasons. Usually they have suffered from abuse or other traumas, they have destroyed their bodies with drugs and alcohol, they have been judged harshly for their appearance, life choices and more, and they are struggling so much to find their way. I pretty much dive into the dancing with them right after I’m introduced. Smiles and laughter are two of my biggest tools!

Just as I would do with my dancers in the studio, we do a BrainDance and then I run through a concept-based Creative Dance lesson plan, adapted from the work of Anne Green Gilbert. Usually within the first five minutes or so, they are smiling, dancing, making choices, solving problems.

We have done dance activities that may be familiar to dance educators such as Shape Fences, Movement Telephone, and Half an Instrument. We have also had some special sessions incorporating ballet pantomime and they seemed to enjoy the dramatic moments in that.

Typically, a handful of the guys do not participate, and, as I do in studio classes with hesitant dancers, I offer the chance to join in with each different activity. If we use props, I always give the guys on the sidelines a prop. When we share choreography they become our audience. I often catch them watching attentively and sometimes the more hesitant guys join in after observing for a bit.

They love doing folk dances! We did Mayim, Los Machetes, and Heel/Toe Polka and some reels. I’ve also been super pleased to see how well they've done with the choreography “assignments” in class.

Last week they created group dances around movement maps, and their work was awesome. They get to work together, share ideas, create, see a project to its conclusion, reflect on their experience...all applicable to life outside rehab.

The guys surprise themselves with what they can do and create in our sessions. I usually get a few minutes to chat with them after we’re done, and some of their observations are that they feel loose and well-exercised, less anxious, more grounded, happy. I have shared a copy of the BrainDance patterns with pictures and explanations, which allows them to keep practicing it on their own.

Feedback from the staff at Magnolia Ridge has been great. The guys do a lot of journaling on all their weekly activities, and the dance sessions have been well-received. Sometimes the support staff at Magnolia Ridge participates in the sessions, and they seem to enjoy the dancing too!

One encouraging thing happened in late October. My church does a ‘trunk or treat’ for Halloween, and as folks came by my trunk, a guy was with his family and recognized me as “the dance lady”! He had made it through the program and was doing well in his recovery. I’d very much like to bring Creative Dance to other area programs. I think this population is very much in need of it.

Liz Borromeo has been a dance educator and choreographer for 25+ years, working with students of all ages in private dance studios, arts organizations, public schools and a variety of other community settings She is the founding director of the dance community in Vancouver, WA that is now called "Cottage Dance Academy" (est. 2015 as Liz Borromeo Dance) and also directs MOTUS Dance Company (est. 2016). Recently relocated to a new community in NE Tennessee, she continues to work with MOTUS remotely and she is excited to share her passion for the art of dance and the learning process with local dancers in her new home and others in varied settings such as ministry programs and persons in addiction recovery.