Anthropological Perspectives for Dance/Movement Therapy Judith Lynne Hanna An anthropological perspective, because of its comparative, cultural and holistic approaches, is critical to working effectively with the unserved and the underserved people of other cultures. Recognizing different cultural patterns can lead to adaptations that could enhance the theory and practice of dance/movement therapy. nthropological perspectives are critical to those working with individ- als or groups of other cultures. Dance/movement therapists need to be aware of human differences and to be flexible in their work in order to accommodate demographically changing populations. The comparative, cultural, and holistic approaches in the discipline of anthropology can provide dance/movement therapists with a context for understanding behavioral patterns. Anthropology emphasizes the comparability of all human cultures. The anthropologist searches for similarities and differences among people in order to understand what is universal to the human species and what is culturally determined and unique to a group. Moreover, the discipline studies variation within cultures by, for example, age, sex, social class, and degrees of assimilation from one group to another. Anthropology's This article is an updated version of paper originally prepared for the International Panel Discussion of the International Conference of the American Dance Therapy Association, Sheraton Centre, Toronto, Canada, October 27-29, 1977. The author gratefully appreciates the helpful comments of the American Journal of Dance Therapy reviewers, and Daniel Halperin, Celia Shapiro, and Joan Frosch-Schroder. American Journal of Dance Therapy © 1990 American Dance Vol. 12, No. 2, Fall/Winter 1990 1 1 5 Therapy Association