Somatic practices as a pedagogic tool to embody salsa music during improvisation and performance: a study of the Irene Miguel Method / Irene Miguel (2022)

The title of this thesis by Irene Miguel, is ‘Somatic practices as a pedagogic tool to embody salsa music’. The thesis is intended to provide a critical examination of how somatic practices, defined by Sarah Whatley 1 as “body-based movement practices that foreground self-awareness and a first-person experience of moving to ensure a healthy and holistic approach to dance”, can be used as a pedagogic tool for dancers to embody salsa music during improvisation, in social dancing, and in the development of a choreographed piece and its performance within the context of my own methodology, The Irene Miguel Methodology. The research was conducted with the help of 15 contemporary dancers who had never danced salsa before. It featured the application of somatic practices and salsa teaching within my established methodology. The research data was gathered through semi-structured interviews, group discussions, and participant and non-participant observations. It was carried out over a period of 10 months and culminated in a performance of the collaborative piece ‘Space, Earth and Fire’ at the Laban Theatre in London. The study revealed the value and applicability of somatic principles and practices within a salsa-teaching and learning environment in facilitating the embodiment of salsa music, and how these practices can be effectively utilised by salsa teachers, choreographers, performers and researchers to enhance their work. The research findings provided clear evidence that somatic practices and principles, when incorporated in a salsa class, can facilitate the embodiment of salsa music.