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Sensory Processing
Differences

Sensory Processing Differences or SPD, describes how a person receives, interprets, and responds to sensory information.   It is recognised as a neurological variation, not a behaviour issue.

 

A dancer with sensory differences may be:

  • sensory sensitive (over-responsive)

  • sensory seeking (under-responsive)

  • sensory avoiding

  • sensory mixed-profile (varies across senses or days)

 

In dance, sensory needs strongly affect focus, comfort, movement quality, regulation, and participation.

On This Page...

Key Sensory Areas Through a Dance Lens
How differences across auditory, visual, tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular, and interoceptive systems may shape comfort, regulation, and participation in dance.

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What Dancers Need Most From Teachers
Practical classroom approaches that create sensory safety, support regulation, and enable confident, flexible engagement in movement.

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Key Sensory Areas Through a Dance Lens

1. Auditory (Sound)

Dance studios can be loud, full of music, counts, tap shoes, and class chatter.

 

Sensory-sensitive dancers may:

  • Cover ears

  • Get overwhelmed by loud music

  • Struggle with echoey studios

  • Find tap classes overstimulating

 

Sensory-seeking dancers may:

  • Need strong rhythmic beats

  • Thrive in noisy, energetic classes

 

What Helps:

  • Offer lower-volume music

  • Allow noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs

  • Pre-warn students about loud moments

  • Provide quiet “reset” spots

2. Visual (Light, Space, Movement)

Bright lights, busy studios, fast choreography.

 

Sensory-sensitive dancers may:

  • Struggle with bright overhead lighting

  • Feel overwhelmed by fast-moving groups

  • Prefer calm or dimmer environments

 

Sensory-seeking dancers may:

  • Love colourful lighting and visually stimulating environments, such as mirrors, movement, and changing focus

 

What Helps:

  • Dim lights or use natural lighting when possible

  • Keep studio walls uncluttered

  • Limit visual information and use clear, consistent visual cues.

3. Tactile (Touch, Clothing)

Sensory-sensitive dancers may:

  • Dislike certain fabrics or costumes

  • React strongly to touch corrections

  • Find partner work uncomfortable

  • Avoid bare feet on specific floors

 

Sensory-seeking dancers may:

  • Crave deep pressure (compression clothing is helpful)

  • Enjoy tactile props (bands, balls, scarves)

 

What Helps:

  • Offer alternative uniform and costume options

  • Ask for consent before physical corrections

  • Use props to provide comfortable sensory input

4. Proprioception (Body Awareness)

This helps dancers know where their body is in space.

 

Differences may present as:

  • Coordination challenges or bumping into others

  • Difficulty controlling force (too gentle/too strong)

  • Trouble with balancing or landing jumps

 

Sensory seekers may:

  • Love heavy work (jumps, rolls, floorwork)

  • Benefit from weighted props

 

What Helps:

  • Use clear, visual spatial markers for direction and spacing

  • Prioritise slow, guided warm-ups to help mind and body connection

  • Include grounding exercises (pressing into floor, pushing walls)

5. Vestibular (Movement, Spinning, Balance)

This affects balance, turns, and motion tolerance.

 

Sensory-sensitive dancers may:

  • Become dizzy easily

  • Avoid turning combinations

  • Feel motion-sickness during fast transitions

 

Sensory-seeking dancers may:

  • Love spinning, jumps, travelling sequences

  • Crave fast movement

 

What Helps:

  • Allow dancers to opt out of turns or build them gradually

  • Offer slow spinning practice

  • Provide grounding breaks to help dancers reset balance and orientation after movement.

6. Interoception (Internal Body Signals)

This is the awareness of hunger, pain, temperature, thirst, and fatigue.

 

Dancers may:

  • Not notice they’re overheating

  • Miss hunger or thirst cues

  • Ignore pain signals

  • Get overwhelmed without realising why

 

What Helps:

  • Encourage hydration breaks

  • Check in gently, ask if they need a moment

  • Model healthy self-regulation

7. Passions, Focus & Strengths

Sensory differences come with powerful strengths:

  • Deep body-movement connection

  • Rich expressive capacity

  • Heightened musical and rhythmic sensitivity

  • Strong detail awareness

  • Unique movement creativity

  • Intense focus when in the right sensory environment

  • Strong empathy for others

 

Many sensory-different dancers become gifted improvisers, contemporary movers, or performers with powerful emotional presence.

What Dancers Need Most From Teachers

Predictable routines and transitions

Clear, predictable class structures and transitions help regulate the nervous system and reduce sensory overwhelm.

 

Sensory-friendly options

Offering options such as lower lighting, quieter music, headphones, or small fidgets (like a scrunchie on the wrist) allows dancers to manage sensory input.

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Clear visual structure

Using demonstrations, floor markers, and simple written prompts provides visual clarity and reduces cognitive load.

 

Movement breaks

Building in brief movement or rest breaks, especially during long technical sections, supports regulation and focus.

 

Emotional safety

Creating a space where stimming or self-regulation behaviours are accepted removes pressure and supports emotional wellbeing.

 

Flexible participation

Allowing dancers to pause, adapt, or modify movement as needed supports autonomy and sustained engagement.

 

Consent-based corrections

Asking permission before giving hands-on corrections builds trust and respects individual sensory boundaries.

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When sensory needs are respected and regulation is supported, dancers are better able to focus, learn, and enjoy movement.

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