The interplay of dance and creativity as a pathway to health and well-being: a narrative review
May 23rd, 2026
Cristina Calvo-Estelrich, Maricarmen Almarcha, Carlota Torrents
This narrative review synthesizes 56 studies on creative-based dance—including improvisation, dance movement therapy, Biodanza, and expressive movement—and health across clinical and nonclinical populations. Findings link practices with physical function, emotional regulation, agency, self-expression, and social connection, while highlighting methodological gaps and the need for stronger research.
Arts & Health An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2026.2678609
Posted bySarah Pearl
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Abstract/Description
Background:
Creative-based dance remains underexplored compared with structured dance, despite its potential to promote health through participant agency, improvisation, and self-generated movement.
Methods:
Following SANRA guidelines, the authors searched four databases for studies published from 2015–2025 and narratively synthesized 56 eligible studies.
Results:
Creative-based dance was associated with physical, psychological, and social benefits, including improved mobility, emotional regulation, body awareness, confidence, self-expression, and connection.
Introduction:
The review distinguishes creative-based dance from choreography-focused forms and examines how creativity may uniquely support holistic health and well-being.
Health and well-being from a complexity perspective:
Health benefits emerge through dynamic interactions among the creative activity, participants’ agency, and the physical and social environment.
Creativity in movement:
Motor creativity involves generating novel, flexible, and adaptive movements in response to bodily, environmental, and relational cues.
Creativity and well-being:
Creative engagement may support happiness, self-efficacy, flexibility, problem-solving, emotional regulation, and adaptive coping.
Methodology:
The review included empirical studies and reviews centered on improvisation, expressive movement, exploration, or motor creativity while excluding primarily technical, competitive, or exercise-based dance.
Creative-based dance framework:
Creative-based dance centers lived experience, bodily awareness, personal expression, emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, and relational openness.
Dance modalities:
Dance Movement Therapy, contact improvisation, Biodanza, and creative dance use different methods but share an emphasis on embodied agency, exploration, and meaning-making.
Childhood: Creative-based dance may improve children’s coordination, emotional literacy, self-esteem, social understanding, prosocial behavior, and sense of belonging.
Adolescence and youth: Improvisational dance can provide a nonjudgmental space for identity exploration, stress reduction, self-compassion, resilience, and peer connection. Middle-aged adults: Although research is limited, early evidence suggests that improvisation—especially contact improvisation—may reduce stress and increase positive affect, connection, and self-awareness. Older adults:Creative-based dance may strengthen balance, flexibility, mobility, cognition, life satisfaction, autonomy, social connection, and resilience while reducing isolation.
Clinical populations:
Across conditions including chronic pain, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, cognitive impairment, and eating disorders, creative dance may support physical function, emotional regulation, agency, embodiment, and social connection.
Distinctive pathway to well-being:
Unlike prescriptive dance, creative-based dance may produce distinctive benefits by emphasizing real-time choice, embodied attention, improvisation, and co-creation.
Creativity-related processes: Improvisation, movement choice, novelty, shared authorship, and tolerance of uncertainty appear central to how creative dance is experienced.
Mechanisms:
Four primary mechanisms link creative dance to well-being: embodied self-awareness, adaptive agency, nonverbal emotional regulation, and relational connection.
Research gaps:
Evidence is limited by small samples, short interventions, inconsistent terminology and measures, weak control conditions, underrepresentation, and insufficient long-term research.
Conclusion:
Creative-based dance offers a promising multidimensional pathway to health, but stronger research is needed to identify which creative and relational ingredients produce particular benefits.
Creative-based dance remains underexplored compared with structured dance, despite its potential to promote health through participant agency, improvisation, and self-generated movement.
Methods:
Following SANRA guidelines, the authors searched four databases for studies published from 2015–2025 and narratively synthesized 56 eligible studies.
Results:
Creative-based dance was associated with physical, psychological, and social benefits, including improved mobility, emotional regulation, body awareness, confidence, self-expression, and connection.
Introduction:
The review distinguishes creative-based dance from choreography-focused forms and examines how creativity may uniquely support holistic health and well-being.
Health and well-being from a complexity perspective:
Health benefits emerge through dynamic interactions among the creative activity, participants’ agency, and the physical and social environment.
Creativity in movement:
Motor creativity involves generating novel, flexible, and adaptive movements in response to bodily, environmental, and relational cues.
Creativity and well-being:
Creative engagement may support happiness, self-efficacy, flexibility, problem-solving, emotional regulation, and adaptive coping.
Methodology:
The review included empirical studies and reviews centered on improvisation, expressive movement, exploration, or motor creativity while excluding primarily technical, competitive, or exercise-based dance.
Creative-based dance framework:
Creative-based dance centers lived experience, bodily awareness, personal expression, emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, and relational openness.
Dance modalities:
Dance Movement Therapy, contact improvisation, Biodanza, and creative dance use different methods but share an emphasis on embodied agency, exploration, and meaning-making.
Childhood: Creative-based dance may improve children’s coordination, emotional literacy, self-esteem, social understanding, prosocial behavior, and sense of belonging.
Adolescence and youth: Improvisational dance can provide a nonjudgmental space for identity exploration, stress reduction, self-compassion, resilience, and peer connection. Middle-aged adults: Although research is limited, early evidence suggests that improvisation—especially contact improvisation—may reduce stress and increase positive affect, connection, and self-awareness. Older adults:Creative-based dance may strengthen balance, flexibility, mobility, cognition, life satisfaction, autonomy, social connection, and resilience while reducing isolation.
Clinical populations:
Across conditions including chronic pain, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, cognitive impairment, and eating disorders, creative dance may support physical function, emotional regulation, agency, embodiment, and social connection.
Distinctive pathway to well-being:
Unlike prescriptive dance, creative-based dance may produce distinctive benefits by emphasizing real-time choice, embodied attention, improvisation, and co-creation.
Creativity-related processes: Improvisation, movement choice, novelty, shared authorship, and tolerance of uncertainty appear central to how creative dance is experienced.
Mechanisms:
Four primary mechanisms link creative dance to well-being: embodied self-awareness, adaptive agency, nonverbal emotional regulation, and relational connection.
Research gaps:
Evidence is limited by small samples, short interventions, inconsistent terminology and measures, weak control conditions, underrepresentation, and insufficient long-term research.
Conclusion:
Creative-based dance offers a promising multidimensional pathway to health, but stronger research is needed to identify which creative and relational ingredients produce particular benefits.
