Dance for Connection

The Octaband Story — How the Octaband® Came to Be Created

My goal as a dance/movement therapist and educator for over 45 years, working across all ages and abilities, has been to increase a person’s sense of relatedness to themself, others, and their environment. I am particularly fascinated by experimenting with ways of moving which first build and then focus energy. 

The child in me loves to play with the elements of rhythm, dance, music, and color; the artist and dancer in me loves to shape those elements.

While leading dance/movement therapy groups of older adults with dementia who were unable to connect with one another, an image began to emerge: I saw the group leader as the hub of a wheel and the interactions between the leader and group members as spokes of that wheel. I wondered if there was a way for group members to interact with each other more directly if there was less intervention on my part. I created a prop to manifest this image where every person has an equal role The result was that people saw themselves as individuals connected and belonging to the larger whole.

Though originally developed as a dance/movement therapy prop, the Octaband is also being used with great success by: music and expressive therapists, recreation therapists, activity directors, occupational, physical and speech therapists, special ed and music teachers, social workers and team builders. It has been especially effective with children with special needs, including physical challenges, along the autism,spectrum, and ADHD, and with older adults and people with dementia including Alzheimer’s disease, and both children and adults with developmental disabilities.