The role of dancing in the Educational Process

The aim of this work is to show how dancing, as well as other disciplines, may help to fully shape a person by acting at a physical, psychic and intellectual level simultaneously. We talk about educational dance, which looks at the person rather than at the dancer training and refers to a specific environment, the school context. The reviewed reference literature analyses the so called Free Dance or Modern Dance, a revolutionary movement consolidated in the artistic field at the beginning of the 20th century. It questions the dichotomy mind-body and support a corporeality free from conditioning. Thanks to its pioneers we witness the gradual access of dancing into physical education programs. Therefore, our inquiry on the relation Dance-School in Italy starts, taking in consideration the earliest normative references: the National Programs 2012. The carried analysis fosters us to review the methodological approach commonly adopted in the school context, for it is still too fossilized on the cognitive aspect and poor of bodily-playful-creative doing. As a result, we believe the teaching workshop is the best solution to prompt the practice of dancing in the school. Because it contemplates either the bodily and psychic aspect or the emotional and cognitive one, more than any other expressive languages, dancing can teach children to “dwell” their own body and find out the untapped potential, heightening the self awareness. Furthermore, the flexibility of dancing allows to link it primarily with music but with other disciplines as well, therefore facilitating their bond and contributing to the achievement of a global vision of knowledge