DMT: The Legacies of dance/movement therapy pioneers Marian Chace, Blanche Evan and Liljan Espenak

This presentation explores the extraordinary contributions of dance/movement therapy innovators Marian Chace, Blanche Evan and Liljan Espenak: Their passion for dance, their inspirations and their methods.

Each of the presenters, Elissa White, Bonnie Bernstein and Nana Koch, had the opportunity to be mentored by one of these pioneers. They were fortunate to experience the depth of their mentor’s methods, their passion for dance and the evolution of their creative work to bring out the healing potential of dance for therapy. Decades after their mentors' deaths, their legacies live on.

Note: Viewers will gain insight into the similarities and differences in the theories and clinical applications attributed to each of these pioneers.

Bonnie Bernstein, MFT, BC-DMT, REAT, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Dance/Movement Therapist and Expressive Arts Therapist mentored by pioneer dance therapist Blanche Evan from 1970-82. For over 45 years she has worked primarily in in-depth, insight-oriented dance/movement/word therapy for the higher functioning client. She specializes in therapy for survivors of sexual trauma and has published in this area. Since 2008 she has facilitated month-long workshops for survivors of psychosocial trauma in Kolkata, India. Her lifelong research is on the therapeutic use of dance in indigenous world cultures. She is an adjunct professor at JFK University and is Director of Life is Movement Dance/movement Therapy Institute In The Methods Of Blanche Evan. Ms. Bernstein has a private practice in Palo Alto, CA.

Nana Koch, Ed.D., BC-DMT, LCAT, NCC, LPC, CMA, studied with Liljan Espenak in the certification program she offered at New York’s Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospital/Mental Retardation Clinic. Nana teaches the specialized system that Espenak developed for patient treatment from diagnosis to an implemented plan. She has taught courses and workshops focused on this system at conferences, institutes and workshops in the United States, Japan, Costa Rica, China (Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen), Hong Kong, South Korea, India, and Australia. She is Professor Emerita at Long Island University, where she was the former chairperson of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Movement Science. Nana was the coordinator of the Hunter College Dance Movement Therapy Master’s Program; served as Chairperson of the American Dance Therapy Association’s (ADTA) Sub-Committee for Approval of Alternate Route Courses; is a former chairperson of the ADTA Credentials Committee; and member of the Approval Committee. In 2012, she received the ADTA Excellence in Teaching award. Nana’s interviews of three dance/movement therapists formed the basis for much of the dialogue in the New York ADTA Chapter film: Moving Stories Portraits of Dance Movement Therapists. She is the author of several articles/interviews in the Journal of the American Dance Therapy Association. In 2018 & 2019, Nana received Marian Chace Foundation grants to have subtitled into Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Korean eight of the most viewed ADTA Talks on youtube.

Elissa Queyquep White, BC-DMT, CMA, LCAT, studied with Marian Chace and Irmgard Bartenieff. She co-founded the Dance Movement Therapy Master’s Program at Hunter College in 1971, where she also taught. Prior, Elissa directed the dance therapy program at Bronx Psychiatric Hospital. She worked clinically from l967-1998. Elissa is a charter member of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) and served in many capacities on the Board of Directors. She is a former president of ADTA, and she also served as the Association’s vice president and twice as treasurer. She was awarded ADTA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. Currently, Elissa teaches courses at Pratt Institute and Kinections, and she is on the faculty and advisory board of Inspirees Institute in Beijing. She has published several articles on dance movement therapy and movement observation.