Dancing and adolescence: phenomenological study of a street dancer group in a public school

Abstract

This study aimed to understand the meanings adolescent street dancers attributed to dancing experiences within the context of a public school in the interior of São Paulo, SP, Brazil. This is a qualitative study with an exploratory approach and phenomenological background. Its guiding theoretical framework is the Humanistic Psychology, specifically the Client-Centered Approach developed by Carl Rogers. The researcher accompanied seven students weekly during six months of dancing classes and at the end of this period individually interviewed each of them. Seven narratives focused on the participants' experience were developed in the light of the inter-subjective relationship established between the researcher and the students. This experience enabled the emergency of typical elements in the adolescent street dancer group, concluding that the adolescents' experience led to significant learning, as developed by Rogers.