De los pies al alma: relatos danzarios de un cuerpo que se piensa

Abstract

This work explores how dance becomes a territory of meaning for a young dancer, where the body not only moves, but is also thought about, named, and recognized. The research is situated within the framework of the Specialization in Childhood, Culture, and Development at the Francisco José de Caldas District University and unfolds through close and sensitive accompaniment. Observation, narrative, and the dance experience itself allow for questions to be raised about bodily self-concept in childhood. The process is built upon the viewing of videos, conversations with the participant, and the drawings she creates of her own movement, configuring a tapestry of bodily narratives that emerge from emotion, memory, and gesture. Through these encounters, the study recognizes how dance acts as a language that enables the girl's symbolic expression, allowing her to narrate through her body and construct her own meanings about what she feels, imagines, and is. The research seeks to understand how dance practices—both guided and improvised—foster expressive autonomy, self-confidence, and body awareness, allowing the girl to move between the group and the individual, between what is learned and what emerges spontaneously. Thus, the moving body reveals itself as a space for subjective construction, in which emotions, cultural beliefs, and everyday experiences intertwine to shape an evolving identity.