National Dance/Movement Therapy Advocacy Day – June 13, 2026

History of National Dance/Movement Therapy Advocacy Day

Dance/movement therapy (D.M.T.) emerged as a field in the 1940s as early innovators, many of whom were accomplished dancers, realized the extensive benefits of using dance and movement as a form of psychotherapy.

The American Dance Therapy Association (A.D.T.A.) defines it as “the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual, for the purpose of improving health and well-being.” The idea of dance as therapy is credited to former dance educator and performer Marian Chace, who shifted her focus from dance techniques and education to her students’ individual movement communications and expressions.

After World War II, she was invited to work at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC, where she was tasked with working with withdrawn, shutdown, and mute patients. She also worked with many war veterans. Her reputation for using dance as a means of communication and expression became widely known as she successfully reached nonverbal patients. She managed to break down their barriers through the power of movement, physical interaction, and dance by playing music, interacting with patients by mirroring their movements, establishing eye contact, engaging in physical contact, and waltzing to the rhythmic steps.

An increasing number of therapists worldwide are also recommending this form of therapy as the evidence supporting it continues piling up. These days, it’s common to find many places offering D.M.T. in various locations.

Erica Hornthal later founded National Dance/Movement Therapy Advocacy Day in 2019 to create awareness about this form of psychotherapy and allow more people to benefit from it.