Dancing as Moments of Belonging: A Phenomenological Study Exploring Dancing as a Relevant Activity for Social and Cultural Sustainability in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Individuals’ capacities to contribute to more sustainable living are deeply influenced by their early life experiences. Hence, there is a need to discover which experiences are relevant to young children’s contemporary and future contributions to more sustainable living. Perceiving children as aesthetically oriented to the world and their sense of belonging as a core experience for social and cultural sustainability, and using the example of dancing, we investigate how such a sense of belonging can be supported through aesthetic first-person experiences. This article is therefore structured around the following research question: How can adults’ experiences of themselves, others and their sense of belonging—when dancing—inform explorations of ways to foster embodied and aesthetic belonging for social and cultural sustainability in early childhood education (ECE)? Drawing on a phenomenological study, we analyse interviews with four dancers, who differ in age, gender and dance genre. Our analysis reveals their experiences when dancing as being in a meditative state, having a sense of freedom and feeling body and mind as one, described as an overall “different”, resilient way of being and belonging in a social context. Our findings indicate that facilitating moments of sensible and bodily awareness can support a non-verbal understanding of oneself and others, as well as arguments for promoting aesthetic experiences while dancing as relevant to sustainable practices in ECE.

Harmonizing Movements and Messages: A Traditional Dance Performance Arts-Inspired AIDA Model for Promoting Sustainable Behavior and Effective Marketing Sustainability Communication

“…Grindheim and Grindheim [21] have significantly advanced our understanding of the role of dance in fostering cultural sustainability, demonstrating through a phenomenological study that personal experiences in dance are essential in developing a sense of belonging to the community. Despite the richness of their findings across a spectrum of dance genres, their focus predominantly on adult experiences overlooks the wider perspectives of nonverbal children, thus presenting a notable gap in the inclusivity of their research.…”

“…It transcends just artistic expression, positioning dance as a dynamic catalyst for social change, which could potentially engage a wider community in sustainability initiatives. The ultimate goal of this research is to inspire the entire dance community, including government bodies and other performers, to participate in similar activities that are beneficial to society [8,21]. By doing so, the study not only contributes to academic discourse, but also aims to have a far-reaching impact on societal practices, encouraging a collective movement towards sustainable living.…”

“…However, this could improve the potential of marketing communications to foster deeper and more meaningful audience participation in environmental issues. The emotive potency of traditional dance, as an artistic medium, can significantly amplify this integration [8,12,21], forging a stronger connection between the audience and sustainability messages. Thus, the study presents the third research question (RQ.3): How can the integration of emotional engagement and environmental awareness within the AIDA model effectively enhance the promotion of sustainable behavior?…”

The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Laughter—Sustainability in the Light of Parental Collaboration involving Refugee Parents

“…Social sustainability can be understood as "the preservation and development of stable societies with social justice, equal rights, citizenship, participation, well-being, health, education, and safety for all people in the community" (Bergan et al, 2021, p. 2). Participation, participatory decision-making and agency are regarded as central aspects of social and cultural sustainability (Grindheim & Grindheim, 2021). These can also be considered as core elements of parental collaboration where parents are being included as equal partners.…”

“…This will likely affect the ability to achieve the ECEC practices' obligation to facilitate good dialogue with parents and take their views into consideration (Ministry of Education and Research, 2017). Participation, inclusion, and equal rights are some of the core elements describing the essence of social and cultural sustainability (Bergan et al, 2021;Grindheim et al, 2019;Grindheim & Grindheim, 2021). Thus, welcoming refugee parents' active participation in the ECEC context is essential when aiming at reaching the 16 th Sustainable Development Goal Peace, justice and strong institutions (United Nations, n.d.).…”