An exploration into dance’s wellbeing impact on office working adults and a reflection on personal development journey in community dance teaching practice / Shan Sun (2024)

The potential benefits of dancing on the physical and psychological well being have been extensively researched and documented in the literature. However it appears that most research is focused on the elderly or the young people, while the middle-age or working population receive comparatively less attention. This thesis, An exploration into dance’s wellbeing impact on office working adults and a reflection on personal development journey in community dance teaching practice, looks into this under-researched area. Utilizing a combination of Qualitative and Practice as Research methodologies, and through pre-workshop survey with office working amateur dancers and three introductory contemporary dance workshops for office working adults in London followed by post- workshop survey, potential wellbeing benefits are suggested including stress relief and relaxation, physical benefits in strength, flexibility and overall fitness, improvement in body awareness and coordination, opportunity for self-expression, creativity and cognitive exercise, confidence boost and sense of achievement, and social engagement. However, it was noted that amateur dancers could also encounter risk of injuries and pains, underscoring the necessity to promote safe dance practice and knowledge about injury prevention and care in the recreational dancing community. Despite differing preference and interests of participants, themes emerged regarding what they value in dance activities, which include joy and fun, creative experiences such as improvisation, a safe, encouraging and relaxing space held by the teacher, clear instructions and explanations, and well organized session flow. Through designing, teaching and evaluating the workshops, this project also became a critical reflection on my development journey in community dance teaching practice. My thoughts around content design, teaching styles and strategies were documented in this thesis.