Findings of the researches of different authors show the importance of including creative movement within the work with the persons with special needs. The progress is visible in psychomotor, social-emotional as well as intellectual field. In the diploma thesis we presented the experience, gained by young adults with cerebral palsy and a person with Down syndrome through dance-movement workshops; the participants reported about the workshops. The workshops based on movement and on the use of creative movement. Therefore, in the theoretical part, we first defined the conception of movement, then the conception of creativity and linked the latter with creative movement and dance as well. We emphasized the significance of creative movement/dance for different areas of an individual’s activity, such as psychomotor, social-emotional and intellectual field; we focused on the significance of including creative movement in teaching. We described the characteristics of the development of the persons with special needs, focused more thoroughly to the persons with cerebral palsy and Down syndrome and stressed the significance of expressing oneself with body in working with them. Within the framework of dance-movement workshop the participants were discovering their bodies and the methods of expressing through the body. They learnt about bodily expression of other participants. They built on positive self-respect, they were relaxing, expressing emotions and gained psycho-physical endurance. Together with the participants of the workshops we designed, formed and staged dance-movement performance in every year of the activities. In the empirical part we presented the experiences of seven dancers, who gained these experiences through the workshops in dance-movement group Sonček in the five-year period, by means of a semi-structured interview. We qualitatively analyzed the responses from the interviews, given by the participants. The results of the interviews enabled us an insight or a discovery in which fields the participants gained and what is the significance of the experience, gained through dance-movement activities to the participants.
We ascertained that the dance-movement workshops had a great significance for the participants in psychomotor and social-emotional field of operation. In psychomotor field the participants stressed mostly the strengthening of the motor skills, improvement of physical condition, calmness, the significance of bodily relaxation and better flexibility. In social-emotional field the participants stressed the significance of socializing, expressing the feelings, self-reliance, motivation, cooperation, mutual help, conversation, connections within the group, independence, feeling of acceptance and integration into the society. These results can be a foundation for a better composition and evaluation of the program of dance-movement workshops for the work with persons with special needs in the future as well.
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