German kindergarten uses Cretan dance as therapy

Tornos News —  A group of German teachers  have incorporated traditional Cretan dances in their Kindergarten school as a therapeutical method for young children. The initiative was taken up by two Germans, Pavlos and Thalassini (the Greek names they have adopted), who are in love with Crete and are organising Cretan dance seminars to expose their compatriots to an alternative means of promoting the psychological and therapeutical benefits of the traditional dance.

The two organisers say that  Cretan dancereally holds some more profound qualities for dealing with feelings of sorrow and happiness, almost redemptive. ‘Through the dance you learn how to give and take. It is an understanding that occurs not with the mind but with the rhythm’. They even refer to a saying by the famous Greek philosopher, Plato who said that those who have not danced are uneducated.

The two have introduced the Cretan dance into German Kindergarten, as one of the group’s members is a special education teacher and have seen positive results in how the children interact with each other.

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