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Won't you join the dance?: A dancer's essay into the treatment of psychosis

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I am sad to learn this marvelous book is out of print. I trust it will be reprinted and made available to all who are interested in the transformative, healing power of dance. The full name of this book is: WON'T YOU JOIN THE DANCE? A DANCER'S ESSAY INTO THE TREATMENT OF PSYCHOSIS. The author Trudi Schoop tells the story of how she grew up in her native Switzerland, and how she became known (and loved) all over the world as a paantomime artist in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Her genius led her to compose dances that expressed the essence of universal human experiences and dilemmas. Her audiences responded with the wonderful, healing laughter of self-recognition. She describes what it was like to perform in a political caberet in Switzerland during the war years, how she composed a particular dance that was at once terrifying and hilarious -- Hitler as "The Dying Swan" -- a hate-filled bird of death that could not stop flapping one of its wings until it finally dies. The Nazi officials protested, and the Swiss in their efforts to remain neutral were decidedly nervous. Trudi tells her story with directness, simplicity and a depth of feeling.

After the war she moved to Los Angeles and began a second career as she became one of the pioneers of a new profession, dance therapy. She had always been fascinated by watching people move and she wanted to understand patients she had seen in mental hospitals. She tells how she went to a large psychiatric hospital and asked to lead dance groups with some of the most unreachable, mute patients. She sensed that the univeral language of the body, of play, and the emotions would be beneficial. Luckily, several of the doctors had seen her perform with her comic ballet and they trusted her ability to relate to anyone through the language of movement. I love this book, have read it many times, and recommend it highly! .