The purpose of this study is to shed light on the therapeutic meaning and value of dance from a historical perspectives by confirming and verifying Korean 'Byeonggut' and Italian 'Tarantism', two dance examples from both the East and the West, which overcome and heal actual diseases. First, from a synchronic perspective, the cause and background of each disease as well as the characteristics and therapeutic functions of each dance were examined. In addition, from a diachronic perspective, the process of change over time from the origin of each disease to recent research and development of each disease and dance was explored. The study was based on literature research of domestic and international books, theses, and academic papers and internet sources. The comparison and analysis of the two dances find that there are similarities in the causes of the disease, symptoms of the disease, treatment methods, and main means of treatment. However, there are differences in terms of the distribution of occurrence, participants, treatment targets, and patient attitudes between the two dances.

This study examines sixteen qualitative studies on dance/movement therapy(DMT), selected from multiple peer-reviewed Korean academic journals to identify current trends in the field. The study found that only one qualitative research-based study was conducted in 2008, and no qualitative research-based studies were conducted from 2009-2015. However, since 2016, more qualitative research methods, such as case study, phenomenological research, consensual qualitative research, and general qualitative research, have been incorporated into DMT-related articles. The data collected for these studies have been mainly based on interviews, which are then verified by the interviewees and their peers for reliability. Recently, more researchers have undergone IRB review procedures following ethical norms before conducting their studies. Participants of the research have included adults, adolescents, and children who were invited to about 10 to 15 sessions with 50-180 minutes for each session. Overall, through the analysis of the sixteen selected qualitative studies, this paper has categorized the ways in which DMT has impacted participants into seven areas: emotional, personal, physical, social, educational, cognitive, and spiritual.