Dance and Art as Tools for Healing Trauma: Women’s Groups Launch Art Therapy Workshops for Survivors of Violence

By Faten Sobhy

To the sound of drums and tambourines, her body sways gently, crying softly with the flute, and embracing its own survival with movement. This is how Mai expresses herself through “baladi” dance, letting her spirit and body move between joy and melancholy. For Mai Amer, a PhD researcher in anthropology and sociology, dance was never just a childhood talent. It became a lifeline after her divorce, a way to face life alone with her child, and a way to rebuild herself and reconnect with a body shattered by a relationship that nearly destroyed her.

We dance for life
Mai speaks about her experience. A year and a half ago, she fell into depression after her divorce. She began experiencing breathing crises and doctors prescribed psychiatric medication, which she refused. She did not know what she needed until she tried dancing in front of her friends and felt instantly better, more beautiful, and more confident in herself. The experience empowered her friends as well and made them stronger. She tells Sharika Wa Laken how they began gathering as friends to form the group “Shakhlaa.” They started gathering friends going through similar emotional needs, dancing together and teaching one another. This began in December 2023 and continued into January 2024.

“Shakhlaa” was born among a circle of friends. There were ten dancers ready to present their first performance, the result of their sessions. The show took place on 20 April 2024 for women from their safe circles only.

During a vacation to Egypt, her friends told Jana Mahmoud, 32, about Shakhlaa and that it might be her chance to practice her passion. She tells Sharika Wa Laken with eyes flickering in happiness that she joined as a trainee, participated in the first show, and became part of the core troupe. In Shakhlaa she discovered herself. She found joy, connection with her body, and women who shared the same passion.

Mai aims to expand women’s movement vocabulary and help them discover their bodies in harmony with music, enabling them to connect and build relationships with others going through psychological struggles. She notes that they started with six dancers, then ten, and now have reached 102 dancers. Forty dancers will be graduating soon. She is currently researching the anthropology of Egyptian art and has specialized in “baladi” or belly dancing in Egypt and Tunisia.

In this context, work is underway to establish a women’s training company that offers a safe space for women to learn different art forms and helps them overcome trauma and discover their talents, whether in dance, embroidery, sewing, lighting and sound, photography, or storytelling. These skills are used to support the troupe. Embroidery and sewing contribute to costume design. The shows are produced through theater production skills, stage management, and the integration of storytelling, acting, and other artistic expressions.

Family support
To mend the wounds of a woman in pain or a survivor of violence is like a prayer carrying her forward. This is what music and dance did for some of them. Jana received strong support from her family for joining a new and bold experience no one around her had tried before. They were happy to see her express her beauty. Jana says she encourages her friends to join and live the same good experience. She is excited for Shakhlaa and confident it will achieve great success, especially since it has already made a positive impact on the lives of abused women and survivors of violence, which she considers an achievement.

Mai points out that Egyptians express their emotions through dance at weddings, in celebrations of success, before travel, and after pilgrimage. Despite this, dance is stigmatized for political and colonial reasons, with cinema portraying the “baladi” belly dancer as immoral, manipulative, and part of a criminal world, depicting her body as cheap. Meanwhile, ballet dancers never faced this stigma. Mai attributes this disparity to what she calls the obsession with the West.

Marina Shenouda, 36, a printing house manager, says she was always known in her family and among her friends as someone who loved “baladi” dance and was good at it. She used to participate in school events. Shakhlaa became the faint light that saved her from falling into depression after breaking her leg. While scrolling on Facebook she found a post about a baladi dance troupe accepting beginners. She contacted them and joined the group.

Marina tells “Sharika Walakin” that dance helped her recover from the suffering of wearing a cast. At first, her family refused the idea of her going somewhere to dance and asked about privacy. What would she wear Who might film her In the end, she convinced them to let her try. They were annoyed at first about the night workshop hours, but she told them that she would protect herself more than anyone else. In the end they accepted, despite being a religious family.

She laughs deeply and says her friends know her choices are always wild and that she does things that support her rights and her freedom. That is why they were not surprised when she invited them to her first dance performance. She dreams that the troupe becomes like Reda Troupe and that they can dance publicly in safety.

Mira Ahmed’s experience is not very different. She is a thirty-seven-year-old teacher who always dreamed of working in baladi/ belly dance. Shakhlaa became her refuge from psychological difficulties. She tells Sharika Wa Laken that her mother loves dance and encouraged her. Her mother felt reassured knowing that the performances were for women only and attended with her, impressed by what she saw. Mira says her love for dance helped her overcome her crisis and feel happiness in herself, her talent, and her body. Her mental health began to stabilize as her performance improved. She encourages her friends to attend shows, although she cannot tell some friends because they hold conservative views and criticize anything that expresses freedom or self-expression.

Surviving stigma

For women to step outside what is considered normal and express love for their bodies is a vital struggle every girl undertakes. I will never forget my childhood love for ballet, when those close to me dismissed my passion because I was thin and supposedly unfit for dance. With time I realized it was not my body they feared, but women themselves and our resistance to attempts to erase our identities. Every act of persistence, every expression of self and choice, especially when it involves our bodies, frightens their fundamentalism.

Trauma is a painful experience that women often cannot overcome easily. It affects both physical and mental health and leads to symptoms such as forgetfulness, anxiety, depression, and obsessive thoughts, and in some cases can progress to psychotic symptoms, according to Dr. Hala Hammad, clinical psychologist and head of the psychological support unit at the initiative Mu’annath Salem.
Dr. Hala tells Sharika Wa Laken that some traumas result from severe illnesses such as cancer or the loss of loved ones or separation. In these cases, art therapy works as a complementary approach to medication because it allows women to express themselves through creative forms, increasing their awareness, helping them communicate, and restoring self-confidence.

Emotions in color
Through painting, sculpture, and collage, Shorouq Raafat, age thirty, began using her passion to support survivors of violence of different ages and backgrounds by launching art therapy workshops and camps. She started as a volunteer in youth initiatives, then studied art therapy and obtained certificates from specialized institutions, believing that art is an effective method for releasing negative energy and expressing emotions.

“They are victims of daily pressure or survivors of domestic or marital violence,” Shorouq says about her work. She explains that abused women and survivors receive customized programs designed to help them feel better, enjoy art, love themselves without reliving trauma, and regain strength while expressing their emotions through colors, shapes, and discovering their talents.

In her interview with Sharika Wa Laken, she emphasizes that supporting survivors requires using sensitive and trauma informed language that avoids triggering their memories. Instead, expression is done through color storytelling. Most participants learn about the workshops through social media, while others are referred by women’s organizations such as Superwoman.

The importance of studying survivors’ needs
Art is widely seen as entertainment and enjoyment, but when used for healing it can genuinely help survivors. Nevertheless, using it as a therapeutic tool requires caution. This is how Aya Muneer, founder of the initiative Superwoman, sees it. She tells Sharika Wa Laken that both the Shakhlaa dance experience and Shorouq’s anxiety healing workshops must be designed based on the specific needs of survivors because they are more vulnerable. Engaging with trauma without awareness can have negative effects. But with understanding and proper training, art becomes a real path to survival.

Aya points out that survivors of marital rape should not be grouped with survivors of domestic violence. Dance, painting, sculpture, and other art forms can help women speak about their experiences and reconcile with them if done scientifically and thoughtfully.

After experiencing family conflicts, Aya Saber, 27, and a lab specialist, fell into depression. She tells Sharika Wa Laken that she lost interest in life and began missing work. One day she watched a television report about art therapy in which Shorouq was explaining its benefits. Aya contacted her through Facebook, attended painting and collage workshops, and felt she was regaining her energy. Her talent improved, and she is now considering displaying her work in an exhibition being prepared with Superwoman. What helped her even more was meeting many courageous women who faced difficult traumas and were trying to help themselves.

A little art can heal the spirit
Dance, meanwhile, is life itself. It is a rebirth that frees women from societal constraints that once suffocated their sense of beauty and joy. Dance trainer Asya Suleiman from Shakhlaa explains that therapists often advise patients who struggle to express themselves to engage with art. In dance, the body becomes the primary instrument, releasing energy and reconciling with itself.

She says she began as a dancer in private troupes, then joined the Reda Troupe, and later shifted to training girls and women to overcome trauma by expressing themselves through movement. Asya tells Sharika Wa Laken that women have embraced dance as a form of healing, and many have been able to overcome emotional struggles, breakups, low self-worth, and body shaming, whether for being thin or overweight or due to comments from husbands that diminished their sense of womanhood. With rehearsals, their movements become more flexible and open, as if their bodies have become brighter and more vibrant.

Shorouq explains that each training day is built around a theme delivered through one artistic medium, while allowing each participant to choose the form of art they enjoy. A key step is exploring why some women resist certain art forms, which may reveal the beginning of their healing process.

Beyond helping survivors overcome trauma, art also offers a chance to discover new talents, turn them into income opportunities, and participate in exhibitions held in cooperation with women’s organizations. One woman has even created her own brand, printing her designs on clothing and everyday items, and now organizes her own exhibitions.

By: Faten Sobhy