Corporeality and dance for babies: a systematic review study

Abstract

With the objective of identifying the state of the art of academic production about pedagogical processes that relate corporeity and dance for babies, this systematic literature review study investigated the potential of the results found in the studies to boost dance in nurseries, as well as the gaps related to the topic. This is a descriptive and bibliographic study, which analyzed 21 works published between 2007 and 2020. We found that there is a growing recognition of the human totality (without overcoming the body and intellect dichotomy), as well as an increase in works that discuss the specificities of babies, especially in studies from the southern region of the country. The studies highlighted the process of changes through which the conceptions of body and Physical Education for babies go and, for the most part, considered them as active subjects who communicate, create culture and discover the world (physical, social and cultural) through the body. In addition, studies have considered dance and the arts as paths to integral human development since babies. We conclude that despite the relationship between corporeity and dance for babies being a topic that has been little studied in the academic-scientific field, the symbolic and humanizing potential of this relationship was considered in the studies, showing that there are spaces for the elaboration of other researches and pedagogical actions with this theme, filling the existing gaps.