Home – On Finding Individual and Collective Healing Spaces Through Dance, Theatre and Community
Home is both a longing and the recognition that I am myself in a given or relational space. My struggle to find a home in communities triggered my step towards writing this thesis. I recognized that finding a home is often a healing journey after having lost a home. Looking into three different community practices, namely Theatre for Living and Theatre of the Oppressed, 5Rhythms Dance and Art of Hosting, I was interested in the qualities of individual and communal healing spaces that create a perception of home. I share my perspective both as participant and as facilitator in the different practices and use interviews with practitioners to provide a variety of experimental insights in face of the guiding questions: What are the qualities of healing spaces in community settings and how can they be supported?
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I wanted to write about a topic of practical relevance and that is close to my heart. As I started working, I increasingly came across hosting communities on the one hand and working with theatre on the other hand. Dancing 5Rhythms additionally helped me to develop my skills in both mentioned areas. The creative interaction between my work experience and the research endeavor was fruitful, but my journey towards the finalization of my thesis was full of hard work and little moments of flow and ease. Nevertheless, the journey was worthy as my practical work became deeper and more conscious.