This study aims to identify the artistic sociological aspects of Choi Seung-hee’s dance philosophy by comparing and analyzing it with Arnold Hauser’s theory of the sociology of art. As a research method, I analyze Choi Seung-hee’s magazine article, focusing on “The Korean People and Dance”, and examine conceptual similarities with Hauser’s theory. The findings reveal strong correlations between the two theories, particularly in the historical and social natures of art, the concept of alienation, the dual structure of popular and fine arts, and the critique of formalism. Considering the socio-cultural context of the 1930s, this study suggests that Hauser’s theory may have influenced Choi Seung-hee’s dance philosophy. This research presents an integrated approach combining practice and theory and emphasizes the need for further in-depth studies on the sociological aspects of Choi Seung-hee’s dance philosophy.

The purpose of this study is to examine Western works of art through a historical and archival point of view related to arts psychotherapy. The method of approaching visual works of art is based on essential attributes of art therapy history. The theoretical background is founded in publications and research papers relating to art history, arts philosophy, and expressive arts therapy. To examine contemporary Western works of art and artists, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Henri Matisse were selected for analysis and exploration of the origin of arts psychotherapy. For the purpose of discussing the conceptual foundation of dance therapy, the characteristics of Western works of art and artists were examined, resulting in the following findings. First, the characteristics of Pablo Picasso’s “Three Dancers” include free-form expression, destruction of form, and bodily expression of subjective emotions arising from an inner world. In particular, “Three Dancers” exhibits Symbolism, which is one of the main elements of dance/movement therapy. Second, the characteristics of Jackson Pollock’s “Mural” and “Rhythmical Dance” represent Shamanism and strong Body Action, both from the artifacts and the process of creating them. Lastly, Henri Matisse’s “Dance the Second” and “Two Dancers” show a simple and strong color composition which emphasizes the harmony of nature, humans, and the power of Rhythmic group activity, also a main concept of dance therapy. As a result of the analysis, these three important Western artists and works of art are seen to demonstrate meaningful perspectives and theoretical foundations of dance therapy. Indeed, their works of art could be considered valuable documents of dance therapy history. This study is limited by its focus on only a few selected artists and works of art. A larger, follow-up study is needed to rule out over-generalization. Second, interpretation may be limited by the subjectivity of the author. For this reason, the author included a number of references to support the study’s point of view.

Dance is an intangible art that disappears without a trace at the moment of performance, and it is necessary to record it for preservation, re-appreciation, and recreation of dance. From the past, the record of dance has been preserved in a fixed medium such as pictures, photographs, dance notations, etc., which capture impressive scenes of dancing and record images and texts, and a moving image that records the whole process of dancing. However, the recording by these media was indifferent to the thoughts and voices of the people involved in the dance creation. Naturally, in the writings of Korean dance history using these materials, the voice of dancers and the people who are related to dance creation are avoided. The dance oral history emerged as a methodology of dance research is based on the dancer's memories of the body, dancing, and life, and can be used as reliable date for dancers and researchers in that dancers speak for themselves and participate in writing dance history. In order to increase utilization of the dance oral history, this paper seeks creative way for application of 48 dance people's oral history transcripts produced by the Korea Arts Council in 2008 and 2009. Accordingly, three types of diagram related to the Korean dance scene in the 20th century, such as a chart for the 20th century dance educational institutions, a map of dance studios in Chungmu-ro, Seoul in the 1950s, and genealogy charts by dance genres were created.