Heatwaves, extinct species, and broadly polluted areas worldwide are apparent signs of the human-caused ecological crises. Scholars agree that a collective ecological change is needed to save the Earth. Thus, we must critically reflect how we, as dance educators, are dependent on how dance is defined, and how its educational aims and practices are…

In this student reading, I use examples from dance technique classes to bring attention to the choices that students make when learning new movement via observation and repetition. Based on these examples, I frame learning in technique class not as a process of imitation but a process of translation. In doing so I hope to advocate for the…

The following study is a phenomenological qualitative analysis of collegiate dancers' experiences with and perceptions of body awareness and somatic movement. Participants (n = 8) were trained dancers, although not dance majors. Semi-structured interviews explored what kinds of experiences dancers have had in the realm of body awareness, what…

The whole person is a valued part of their dance community, and a healthy community plays an important role in the individual dancer's self-identity and social, psychological, and overall health. As a dance community, we need to do everything we can to help increase body positivity through empathetic and empowering methods that bring everyBODY…

Flow states have been linked to positive emotions, optimal focus, productivity, and a stronger sense of self through learning. Past research has confirmed that dancers experience flow, that flow in dance is related to spirituality and community connectedness, and that environmental factors can inhibit or facilitate dancing flow. This exploratory…

This article presents a study on three somatic movement dance educators' perspectives on developing creativity in dance students. A post-positivist, inductive qualitative study was undertaken to gather practitioners Katye Coe's, Sara Reed's, and Rebecca Weber's phenomenological reflections on teaching somatically informed dance and how somatic…

In many dance competitions in North America, performances of sexualized choreography have become normalized. One result is that bodies of girl dancers are increasingly constructed as sexual objects. Sexual objectification is highly problematic for the development of girls' self-identities, body image, psychological health, and overall wellbeing.…

This article calls educators to continue using accessible language to support dancers with disabilities and promote disability esthetic in dance. I will draw from my experience working in "inclusive dance," a term that will be discussed and problematized. The article also challenges the idea of the "ideal" body in dance. It…

The Feldenkrais Method® (FM) is a form of somatic education aiming to increase brain-body communication, reportedly via interoceptive mechanisms. Although empirically proven to improve perceived interoceptive ability and psychological well-being in adults, feasibility in adolescents remains unclear. We therefore used a combined randomized…

This study investigates the impact of partial versus full mirror use on body image in a beginner-level ballet class. At the end of a seven-week period, researchers distributed an online survey inclusive of qualitative questions to two groups of female collegiate students enrolled in separate beginner-level ballet courses taught by the same…

Little is known about how individuals with histories of sexual trauma experience dance in non-clinical settings. Dance educators outside of the clinical sphere, such as in dance studios and higher education dance programs, may lack knowledge surrounding how the experience(s) of sexual trauma can alter one's movement and involvement in the dance…

Research at the intersection of race, dance, and education is often discussed descriptively or as a cultural intervention, one tracked by what is physically seen (identity of students) rather than how it operates unseen (such as how race operates on students in the classroom). I contribute empirically to the sociocultural frames of the current…

The creative dancing body is an ideal exemplar of the embodied mind. However, creativity research has ceased to develop due to a lack of study of the embodied mind in cognitive science. Thus, much can be gained through exploring ways in which we maximize students' creative potential by engaging 4E cognition through rich dance experiences. In my…

This article connects the "Theory of Extended Mind" with the use of three-dimensional, physical objects in dance pedagogy. The theory of the extended mind supposes that cognition is an activity that reaches out from the mind to the body and to the environment. In particular, we take up Dewey's pragmatic Instrumentalism as a framework…

This article addresses the notion of touch and its constitutive role in the participatory sense-making process (de Jaegher and Paolo 2007) of play and dance improvisation. It is argued that touch is always relational, as it continuously changes the contours of self, other(ness), and world(ing). It is therefore surprising that touch traditionally…