Discovering freedom in dance education
pp. 347-364
in: Karen Bond (ed), Dance and the quality of life, Berlin, Springer, 2019Abstract
Studies have shown that subjective perceptions of freedom are often associated with experiences of high motivation, skill, and choice, along with satisfying outcomes. Freedom is a value applied to dance across age groups, populations, and cultures. Drawing on students' descriptive accounts from previous research in a higher education setting, this chapter extends the freedom discourse in dance education as theorized by scholars. Dancers' and dance students' perceptions of freedom span bodily, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual aspects of life. Freedom has been associated with bodily self-awareness and expression, confidence, and heightened engagement, all considered salient to quality of life and wellbeing. In this chapter dance pedagogies aligned with phenomenological and critical concerns are recognized in facilitating dancing freedoms.