Dance: A Tool for Rehabilitation

Abstract

The United States holds the world's highest incarceration rate, and places a relatively low value on the arts. This project delves into the idea that the creative arts can be used to rehabilitate and reform those in correctional facilities in order to help them lead better lives post-prison. This paper is composed of background historical research on prison arts programs, problems that plague the prison system, and a case study of Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA). Three members from different places within the RTA community were interviewed to gain a wider perspective on the effect of dance in correctional facilities. Art as a Tool and Art as Change were two themes that emerged from the interview analysis. Besides the numerous mental and physical health benefits to dance, this project examines the ideas that art can be a tool to show the humanity behind prison walls and that art rehabilitates when people take the self-initiative to change themselves. It focuses on dance as the chosen method of arts rehabilitation and investigates the impact of dance on incarcerated individuals and society as a whole.