Prof. Member DTAA, Diploma DMT IDTIA. Director Moving Together, a community-based dance therapy program for mothers and babies in the City of Boroondara. Member of the committee of the DTAA since 2005. As the activities coordinator at Prague House in Melbourne, Elizabeth provides arts and recreation programs with an emphasis on the therapeutic. Elizabeth is qualified and experienced in primary education, including Rudolf Steiner Education, and in teaching Yoga and meditation and is at present involved in training as a Hakomi practitioner.

A conversation with Penelope Best in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Garden

A recorded conversation between two dance therapists Penny Best and Elizabeth Mackenzie in Melbourne Australia in late 2018 is transcribed and presented. As the conversation unfolds, it reveals core elements of Penny’s perspectives based upon years of her practice as clinician, trainer and supervisor and now as a live artist. Core elements are highlighted such as: the essential nature and art of dance as a therapeutic relational factor; the importance of unpacking and exploring assumptions in shared language; the necessity of stimulating and maintaining the dance therapist’s connection to bodily and aesthetic dance practices and the challenges presented by dominant paradigms within current research and writing. Penny aims to balance the often accepted dichotomy of scientific vs. artistic research and offers a new way of bringing alive the moment to moment interactions within supervision by incorporating sounding as a method of exploration thereby staying close to the rhythmic, felt senses. Authentic Movement supports her focus on the relevance of minute details to interactive practices.

Keywords: Dance; dance therapy; artistic value; body as instrument; space in-between; research

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In January 2018, Marylee Hardenbergh directed Melbourne dancers who have a love of community performance in a site-specific summer outdoor choreography. Dancers and audience progressed to different sites around Abbotsford Convent, now a community arts space with cafés and picnic grounds. Abutting inner-city suburbs, the convent grounds are bordered by the Yarra River and walking paths.

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Donna Newman–Bluestein visited Melbourne, Australia, in February 2014. Donna provided members of the dance therapy community with a workshop on dance and dementia – her area of specialty. Afterwards, Jane Guthrie and Elizabeth Mackenzie met with Donna: it was a fine summer’s evening at Abbottsford Convent in Melbourne. We went there to introduce the convent to Donna, in its role as the home of the DMT community, and to share conversation and a meal. We explained how the convent buildings had housed early graduates of the first Graduate Diploma of Movement and Dance, and Dance Therapy Certificate course, in Melbourne – in fact in Australia.

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Keywords
dance therapy for mothers and babies, mother and baby dance, disconnection, isolation, the mothering task, motherhood

Page #: 144

A community-based dance-movement therapy group can offer a nurturing, supportive environment for mothers in a busy, unsupported world where the problem of disconnection may be experienced. Within the safe space, with the movement experiences and the interventions of the dance therapist, the mother begins to see her baby and to respond intuitively to his expressions and needs. Her new identity as a mother doing the demanding task of mothering is validated. The mother can gain a sense of herself with her baby.

 

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Keywords
empathic attunement, supervision, professional development, inquiry, client’s voice, perceptual perspectives

The DTAA was pleased to welcome back Penny Best from the UK in March 2006. Penny, now a frequent visitor to Australia, conducted a five day Professional Development Event. She has become well known to our dance–movement therapy community and this time offered an excellent and stimulating three day event ‘Reflecting, Shifting & Transforming – in – Relation’ and two separate workshops on “Reflected Images: The Supervisor revealed through the Therapist who is revealed Through the Client’. We are very pleased to have received several contributions for publication. Sally Denning provides a reflection on the overall five day event, whilst Robyn Price reports on the 2nd day of the 3 day event and contributes a short poem from the content of the 3rd day. Elizabeth Mackenzie takes an interesting Haiku form approach to distill what she said was “a wonderful exploration of Dance-movement therapy practice and theory in the workshops”, and within this indicates that her perceptions and understanding were heightened by her attendance. (pp 22-26)

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Keywords
facilitation, vitality, mature DMTs, performance, training, professional development

Elizabeth shares a record of an illuminating discussion she shared between inspired and inspiring participants: Sharon Chaiklin, Rob Baum, Sally Denning and Linda Murrow. They asked questions of Sharon covering an array of topics connected to DMT such as her perspective on her way-of-being as a DMT, qualities for emerging DMTs to aspire to as well as the qualities she observes in mature DMTs. They reflect on the profession’s needs, unique attributes and potential for growth. (pp 9-11)

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Elizabeth has community and clinical experience as a dance-movement therapist. She is an associate member of the DTAA and active for the association on the committee. She is a diploma graduate of the IDTIA and works at Prague House in Melbourne. Here she provides therapeutic activities in the arts and recreation for residents. Her additional qualifications and experience include primary education, Rudolf Steiner Education, and yoga and meditation teaching.

Keywords
Turner syndrome, mother-infant relationship, creative arts therapy,transformation, qualitative research, clinical practice

Elizabeth Mackenzie interviews Elizabeth Loughlin exploring her professional journey and roles as dance therapist, dancer, studio dance teacher, social worker, writer and mentor. Elizabeth’s pioneering efforts to develop dmt within two Melbourne Hospitals include her research contributions nationally and internationally and advocacy within the medical setting for an arts-based approach to supporting women with Turner Syndrome. Her innovative approach offering an artistic therapeutic experience to the relational space between mothers and babies, including mothers with children with disabilities has been extensively documented, researched and taught by Elizabeth, whilst contributing to her foundational work in establishing the DTAA. (pp 2-11)

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Keywords
creative dance, yogic viewpoint, mother-child relationship, music, spirit, transformation, healing

Elizabeth shares a discussion with both Jenny who dances at Mangala and with teacher Peter Hockey. Jenny reflects on her teaching of a creative dance class at Mangala, whilst Peter reflects on 30 years experience teaching yoga and adult and child creative dance. Theoretical perspectives and philosophical influences on dance, therapy, consciousness and yoga are interwoven with the lived experiences of Jenny and Peter from their training, teaching and immersion in the dance. (pp 11-17)

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Keywords
vital energy, nature, soul self, improvisation, play, intuition, Dr. Marcia Leventhal

Elizabeth inquired into the way that DMT Mary Builth shares her connection with vital energy with her clients, discovering a spirited exuberance for dance movement and it’s healing potentials in therapy. The discussion reflected on shared training with Dr. Marcia Leventhal and the inspiration of Jung, Laban and Clasrissa Pinkola Estes. Mary describes her practice both with a client who had cancer and with a group of women, reflecting on the transforming and empowering qualities of DMT. (pp 11-13)

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Keywords
disabilities, wheelchair dance, attention span, workshop reflection

This article is a brief reflection of a workshop that focused on disability. Suggested techniques for managing attention span difficulties and approaches for wheelchair involvement were presented in the workshop. (pp 5-6)

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