Dissertation

This research explores the potential of somatic pedagogy in early childhood dance education, focusing on how it can bridge the body–mind divide and foster what I call “personal literacy”—the idea that dance helps children understand their whole selves. My approach is informed by my somatic practices, including work with Nancy Topf and the Topf Technique®, rooted in the Mabel Todd lineage and ideo-kinesis, alongside my experience as a dance educator in schools.

Using the Mosaic Approach, I conducted a teacher self-study with multiple data sources, including field notes, stimulated recall, student artifacts, teacher memos, and the Leuven Scale to assess children’s well-being and participation across eight designed movement sessions.

From this data, I developed narrative case studies of three children. These revealed that each child formed new self-to-self understandings, showing increased somatic and proprioceptive awareness, expanded movement expression, and growth in personal literacy.

Analysis of the teaching practices highlighted two key elements of effective somatic pedagogy: a “stance of non-interference” (thoughtful decisions about when and how to guide children) and the co-creation of a shared somatic learning environment.