Emancipatory Pedagogy?: Women’s Bodies and the Creative Process in Dance

Recently, I have found myself grappling with the theoretical concept of power relationships in the classroom. Coming from a Foucauldian viewpoint, and looking through a feminist lens, I have been looking for methods to deconstruct traditional ways that dance is taught in a university setting. Further, as a somatic educator, I am particularly aware of and sensitive to how dancer’s bodies can be abused, manipulated, and taught to perform in ways that are destructive and harmful to student dancers. I wish to find less oppressive and more bodily conscious ways to teach dance. This is why I chose to conduct a study, which investigated the bodily perceptions of undergraduate dance students in dance, and how their previous experiences in dance education have influenced how they look at and treat their bodies