Abstract:
This research was informed by my lived experience and curiosity about why some young children do not enjoy learning dance in non-formal contexts. The research question: what are teachers’ perceptions of early dance experiences for young children in non-formal lessons? emerged from this curiosity. Teachers have a direct impact on and insight into children’s dance experience, and it was their ‘dominant’ view that I sought to understand. The methodology within the present research was guided by phenomenology and constructivism, with ethnography and narrative inquiry employed as the methods for collecting and sharing two research participants’ perceptions. The two teachers’ perceptions of providing early dance experience in non-formal contexts were shaped by their prior learning and life experiences, parents’ expectations, inappropriate curriculum, as well as directors’ expectations of non-formal dance education institutions.