When you’re the parent of a child with special needs, you’d normally seek out a ‘different’ kind of therapist. But a whole host of people bring their kids to 33-year-old physiotherapist-turned-dance therapist Nikita Mittal, because she connects to them in a way few other people can. “Working with kids who have special needs is a challenge and yet a privilege. I believe it’s a gift from God to work with them. Unless you do, you won’t realise how different and innocent their world is,” says Mittal, who works to improve people’s lives through dance.
She began her work in 2007 with Let’s Play, a paediatric rehabilitation centre, specifically for special needs children and now she also runs a dance therapy academy, Life and Dance in Pune for anyone who needs to de-stress.
Looking back at the number of lives she has touched through her special brand of dance therapy, she feels a sense of inner peace. “Our primary focus is dance movement therapy (DMT), which is to guide the kids and shift their focus to their abilities from what they can’t do. This isn’t a performance-based dance. Our goal is to create happy kids and dance is just the tool to do that. We designed a curriculum that works on building their emotional and physical health but also ensures they have a good time,” says Dr Mittal.
Sort of like when we hold onto negative emotions, dance can be a form of release, and we immediately feel a sense of rejuvenation. Similarly, through DMT, kids with disorders can develop a better sense of rhythm, co-ordination and balance. They have also noticed that it greatly changes their social behaviour and helps them have control over their emotions and builds their self-esteem.
Dr Mittal works with children from Teach For India, Cancer Patients Aid Association, Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, and the Pune School for the Blind quite often. “It made me feel that my work is meaningful when the principal of a special school of 150 kids said it was her best decision to include DMT as a part of the main curriculum,” she says with a smile, hoping that more schools for special needs children give DMT a shot in the days to come.
Projects undertaken
● DMT for children with special needs at Sunderji’s Institutions for Open Schooling
● Project Light - DMT for blind children in Pune
● Live art project at the prestigious Kala Ghoda Festival, Mumbai
● DMT for CTC cancer patients
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