Everybody loves to dance. It is the
movement of our body that lets us free our inhibitions and taste freedom even
if just for a few minutes. Interestingly, these very calming moves can help us
control our stress and explore the happy hormone in our body.
Cliszma Aniuska Da Costa is a certified
Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) Practitioner from TATA Institute of Social
Sciences, 2014-2015. After completing her graduation at Carmel College for
Women, Nuvem, Cliszma, who was already studying Bharatanatyam since the age of
12, was intrigued by ‘dance therapy’ after first hearing about it at a lecture.
“Dance came to me naturally. This was a subject which was close to my heart. I
did a little research and found that there were just four DMT Practitioners in
India with only two of them actually practising. As TATA Institute of Social
Sciences, Mumbai was offering a course, I had to prepare myself first and then
take it,” says Cliszma, who was recently seen in the film ‘Nachom-ia Kumpasar’
as Isabel, the singer who replaces Donna.
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Though there were other courses in
Psychology in Goa, Clizsma opted for a course which was more practical and
helped her connect with the people. “I took a one year break in Mumbai where I
explored the movement involved in jazz, contemporary and ballet.” Clizsma has
been an active member of the dance community in Mumbai, having participated in
different events such as contact improvisation jams, yoga, dance workshops by
European faculty, hula hooping jam and cocooning sessions. She is also a
licensed Zumba Instructor.
During her tenure in Mumbai, she worked
with special and differently abled children, young adolescents and children
from underprivileged backgrounds as a teacher at The Akanksha Foundation,
Mumbai and has facilitated DMT sessions on audio-visual sequencing for children
with hearing disability at the EAR Foundation in Mumbai.
Back in Goa, Clizsma is now conducting DMT
workshops as well as Zumba fitness classes in Margao. The classes are open to
all and Clizsma is looking forward to working especially with women. How does
DMT work? “There is a certain structure to be followed. The class is usually of
one hour duration and depends on an individual’s issue. The session starts with
warm up, the process and then closure (relaxation). According to the issue, a plan
module is prepared,” says Clizsma.
She further adds, “I use DMT as a tool to
work with stress release through body-mind connect. Some of the other benefits
of DMT include heightening self esteem, anger management, improving body-mind
awareness, gross motor development, improving body-mind coordination,
understanding self, personal space/boundaries, assertiveness, expressing self,
fine motor development and finding meaning through social interaction in a
therapeutic setting. All these aspects come under the domain of personal well
being and positive growth (physical and psychological).”
Clizsma has been practising for 200 hours
over a period of three months. Her commitment to the subject was seen through
her dance routines which included sessions of five hours a day while studying
and 12 hours on her off days. “The very first way of communicating right from
when we are in our mother’s womb is through our body. DMT gives us that free
space within ourselves to be what we want to be,” concludes Clizsma.
