Giving the Body it’s Due:
Teaching Dance/Movement Therapy in Estonia
Barbara Nordstrom-Loeb
MFA, MA, BC-DMT, LMFT, CMA, PWAssociate
University of Minnesota
I received a 5-month Fulbright Lecture Grant to teach Dance/ Movement Therapy courses, workshops and
seminars for the Department of Applied Creativity/ Art Therapies Curricula at Tallinn University, in Estonia
beginning January 2011. My intention and hope was to introduce Estonians to American Dance/Movement
Therapy approaches and techniques and to help nurture the emerging sprouts of dance/movement therapy in
Estonia. I also hoped to excite both students and colleagues with the many ways that psychotherapeutic uses of
movement and dance can promote mind/body wellness and transformation.
During the time I was living in Tallinn, Estonia I was able to teach, interact and share with many different
communities throughout Estonia and the Baltic region. My primary focus was teaching and consulting at
Tallinn University. The courses I taught included Introduction to DMT, Introduction to LMA, Authentic
Movement and DMT for dancers/ choreographers and a DMT Supervision course. I also offered a number of
workshops and classes for faculty, local psychotherapists/psychologists and for the newly formed
‘dance/movement therapy union’. I presented at the Estonian Music Therapy Conference and was able to travel
to several other cities in Estonia where I lead DMT and embodied creative expression workshops for Health
Studies students, Applications of DMT for teachers and therapists at a school for children with special needs
and couples psychotherapist. I also taught several series of classes for the local community.
It is difficult to begin to describe my experiences living within walking distance of the ancient 12th century port
city of Tallinn, eating good dark Estonian bread, sharing snow ‘sledging and a sauna’ with colleagues and
watching the changes that happened as the cold, dark snowy winter first melted and softened into spring and
then exploded into the almost nonstop daylight of the summer solstice (Jaaniepaeve in Estonian). The Estonians
I met and interacted with were incredibly open, curious and thoughtful, and I feel that I learned as much from
them as they (hopefully) learned from me. I was particularly excited by the interest and desire to learn about
how uses of body, movement and creativity can promote wellbeing and health. Although there are currently no
fully trained or registered Estonian DMTs, I know that there will be many in the future (I am basing this
prediction on the amazing students and professionals I met during those 5-minths.)
In addition to these varied Estonian interactions, I was also invited to teach classes and workshops in the larger
region. For International Dance Day, I was invited to Riga, Latvia to teach several workshop/classes and I
learned about Latvian DMT. I was impressed by the students, colleagues and the quality of the training program
there. I also enjoyed a wonderful ‘international’ DMT dinner (at an amazing French restaurant in Riga) with
DMTs from Latvia and Great Britain. The conversation was lively and fun and I learned a lot about various
DMT programs and work throughout Europe.
I was also invited to teach a DMT workshop in Helsinki, although I was not able to meet any of the Finnish
DMTs. In addition to teaching I also had delightful connections with DMTs from Germany and with several
graduate students in the DMT training program in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and several DMT from Great
Britain.
I returned to the US with a much broader perspective of how North American DMT is similar and different
from what is happening in Europe and Great Britain. I loved the opportunity to learn and grow from colleagues
and to be able to see the work we do here from a different perspective. I am already noticing how my own
practice and teaching here has deepened and changed from these experiences and I look forward to the surprises
that I will continue discover in the future.