Psychoanalytical Theories about Dance and Art

Abstract

With the recent trend of crossing academic boundaries and integrating the humanities with social and abstract sciences in contemporary times, this article focuses on the role of art in the school of psychoanalytical thought and by extension, modern medicine. In the process, it explores the relationship between Aristotle's concepts of art and catharsis as associated with Freud's concept of psychoanalysis as the base of modern psychotherapy. This article attempts through a descriptive methodology analyzes historically, artistically and psychologically and establishes the concept of catharsis as central to Dance, Art and psychoanalytical theories. Ultimately, research identifies as problematic that catharsis has only been prominently focused on in medical related health care and research as opposed to art related health care strategies. However, catharsis provides a valuable base line for influencing
both artistic and medical based healing, especially as related to the art of psychotherapy.