When humans begin our life journey as infants, our only form of communication is through body language, which includes expressive movement and gestures, as well as the sounds that accompany these gestures. When we acquire other languages, expressive movement becomes unintentional, so speech can be clear without its support.

Although this bodily expression is innate in babies, this doesn’t mean we can’t nurture it. Through it, we can achieve a more complete, creative, and clearer way of communicating.

The ‘movement footprint’

Throughout childhood, we see how, without any shame, children dance when music calls for it. If we observe them closely, we can distinguish different ways of doing so. Just as no one moves the same, no one expresses themselves the same. This individuality in movement patterns is what we know as “movement signature . “

If in verbal discourse creativity and clarity come from rapid and varied arguments and ideas, in body language they come from using the body in different ways, through varied, broad, and defined movements and gestures.

Body language anticipates verbal language

We can realize many things simply by observing our own bodies and those of others. For example, when we feel overwhelmed, our posture slumps, we shrink, and our movements become constricted. Conversely, if someone feels powerful, they stretch their body and make broad, highly noticeable movements .

To “listen” to and recognize these signs, it is necessary to develop “body awareness,” which is achieved by cultivating body expression from childhood. Being aware of how the body reacts and expresses itself to different life experiences can be a way to recognize and manage our emotional state and can help us regain balance and control through specific movements.

For example, if we tend to get nervous but have learned body language, when a situation approaches that requires concentration, we can regain control and overcome the upset by making broad body movements with deep inhalations.

Or it could be the other way around: if we tend toward slowness and tranquility and need to cheer up or get active, making quick, small, and different movements will get us going.

Creative dance for body language education

Practicing body expression and dance activities helps us understand our corporeality through artistic and cultural experiences. Furthermore, dance has beneficial effects on health and well-being and contributes to neuroplasticity; that is, its practice, by engaging different areas of the brain, strengthens the connectivity between the two cerebral hemispheres .

Far from the technical skills and abilities of dance as a discipline, creative dance as a guide for exploring individual movement is an experience that fosters understanding of the different dimensions of expressive movement: expression, communication, and individual creativity. Dancing offers a context for healthy learning and development for all ages .

How to dance creatively in the classroom

Play and improvisation through creative dance will be the strategies used , always seeking to develop the ability to move any part of the body in different ways and to different rhythms. It is a process that begins with improvisation and progresses toward intentional creation.

To this end, on the one hand, the elements of dance are considered, part of motor development in all its forms (jumps, balances, turns, movements). On the other hand, the dimensions of body expression come into play, allowing for the organization of teaching: the expressive dimension, to learn to express oneself bodily; the communicative dimension, to be able to communicate what we want with our bodies; and the creative dimension, to do so creatively and with a wide range of possibilities.

Take advantage of space and play

In the classroom, we can work on symbolic elements through play, relying on familiar concepts or images that encourage expressive movement. For example, moving through space like a flock of starlings ( “starling murmurations”) ; creating dialogues in which one person moves first, and then responds with another movement based on the movement received (“body dialogues”); or imagining that an invisible elastic band or thread is attached to a body part and a partner guides the movement by moving this elastic band ( “invisible rubber bands” ). These are some play strategies that will facilitate the acquisition of expressive and creative movement resources . The goal is to provide each person with a repertoire that allows them to transform movement into communication.

In this way, creative dance not only develops the movement signature that identifies us, but also helps maintain health, establish empathetic interactions, and recognize emotions.

Author Bios: Natalia Ollora Triana is Assistant Professor and Ana Ponce de León Elizondo is a University Professor both at the University of La Rioja