IJTRR 2017; 6 (1): 70-75 Original Research Article doi: 10.5455/ijtrr.000000223 International Journal of Therapies & Rehabilitation Research http://www.scopemed.org/?jid=12 E-ISSN 2278-0343 Can Dance contribute to Physical, Emotional and Social Aspects of the Stroke Patient? Silvia Susana Wolff; Marcela dos Santos Delabary; Aline Nogueira Haas* Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul – Rua Felizardo, 750- CEP 90690-200 - Bairro Jardim Botânico, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. *Corresponding Author ABSTRACT The goal of this study was to analyze whether dance lessons can contribute to physical, emotional and social aspects of a group of stroke patients in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This study is characterized as a case study with a qualitative analysis, that consists of the detailed observation of an individual or context. Four chronic stroke patients, tree male and one female, that had a stroke more than six months before the intervention, ranging in age from 50 to 86 years old, took dance lessons for one hour peer week for a period of three years. The activities used a series of different dance techniques to focus on gait, balance, weight transfer, and bearing and movement of the legs and arms with precision and coordination. Open-ended individual semi-structured interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. The interviews took 90 minutes, were facilitated by dance instructor and started as an informal conversation, which led to specific questions, addressed themes related to participants perception in relation to their body and any changes in physical, social or emotional aspects of their being after dance practice. The participants of this study reported perceived improvement in their physical, emotional and social aspects. Results suggest that dance could be an additional efficient resource for the rehabilitation process of stroke patients. Keywords: dance, dance/movement therapy, rehabilitation, stroke. INTRODUCTION Having a stroke can lead to a radical change in the life of a human being requiring a long, hard, and complex rehabilitation process. The characteristic sequelae are: memory deficits, fatigue, reduced initiative, spatial disorientation, impaired motor function, impaired eye-hand coordination and depth perception, speech (articulation) and language dysfunction (receptive and expressive), in addition to diverse emotional reactions 1 . Strokes are affecting an increasing number of Brazilians at a young age, placing Brazil with the highest indexes of the disease. Approximately 68,000 deaths by stroke are registered each year, representing the primary cause of death and disability in Brazil 2 . Hence, more and more therapeutic intervention programs are necessary for this type of population. Traditional therapeutic interventions derived from physiotherapy are known to be tedious, strenuous, and non-social 3 . In contrast, interventions proposing the use of artistic practices such as dance present an experience of a playful, social, integrative, and potentially fun outlet 4 . The main deficits observed in stroke patients are in muscle tone, movement amplitude, and postural alterations, balance difficulties, body organization, perception, sensitivity, and muscle weakness deficits, lack of coordination during gait, and other functional activities. The functional consequences of primary neurologic deficits usually predispose stroke patients to a sedentary life pattern, with restrictions on daily life activities, limiting independency and the quality of life of the individual, contributing to low self-esteem, depression, and social isolation and reduced cardiac reserve 5 . Thus, it is believed that the deficit improvement and therapeutic approaches through dance can be applied to other dance types and different groups, as is done specifically in this study, which is for stroke patients. According to Wolff 3 , dance can be a means for social reintegration and physical rehabilitation for stroke patients. In addition, dance can improve common deficits in stroke patients such as balance and mobility 3,6 . According to these authors, in a dance lesson, patients are stimulated to move coordinately as