Chinese ethnic dance therapy: cultural anthropology and health science perspectives on Tujia ethnic dances.

Introduction: Archaeological findings witness the anthropological roots of dance, while psychological, medical, cultural and aesthetic studies shed light on health promoting capacities and curative factors inhering in symbolic and expressive body movement. Since dance therapy became a multifaceted discipline in the middle of the 20th century, increasing evidence of beneficial effects has advocated the use of dance therapy in a broad spectrum of clinical and public health areas such as psychiatry, oncology, neurology, cardiology and geriatrics. Psychological and neurophysiological studies elucidated key mechanisms underlying dance therapeutic dynamics, and ethnological studies highlighted the wealth of indigenous dances alongside their impact on holistic well-being, hence the term 'ethno-dance therapy', which also relates to dance traditions of ethnic groups in China. Methods: Narrative/descriptive ethnological research provided detailed insights into dance traditions of the 55 officially recognized ethnic groups in China such as the Uyghur, Miao and Wa. Considering dance ontological perspectives, a triad of Tujia dances was chosen for this article. On this basis as well as own field studies, cultural-anthropological, psychological, physiological and neurophysiological knowledge was used to construct hypotheses about health-relevant features and factors. In terms of meta-methodology, such inferential reasoning brings about multi-disciplinary meta-syntheses, which differ considerably from the conventional understanding of this genre. Results: Our analysis of Tujia dances suggests nine distinct therapeutic principles and benefits regarding (i) cardiovascular health, (ii) musculoskeletal health, (iii) neuroplasticity and network connectivity, (iv) self-exploration and self-expression, (v) self-actualization and ontological anchoring, (vi) hypnotherapeutic dynamics and altered states of consciousness, (vii) symbolic interaction and ritualized social roles, (viii) therapeutically advantageous changes of attitudes, (ix) aesthetic immersion and the dance-self. Discussion: The broad spectrum of beneficial effects of Tujia dances may improve dance therapy in various medical areas and enhance culturally sensitive public health systems. Further research should focus on underlying mechanisms, involve dances from further ethnic groups, explore cross-cultural transferability to more precisely differentiate archetypal/anthropological and culture-dependent factors, and to clearly identify dance therapeutic functions within complex medical and psychological treatment plans.