Teaching Dance Techniques in an Aging Body: Perspectives and Recommendations from Dance Educators

Postsecondary dance technique teachers negotiate extensive physical demands throughout their careers. As they rise through the academic ranks, their bodies age, and with age sometimes comes limited mobility, decreasing strength, and injuries. Further, mental and emotional processes and self-perceptions sometimes change in response to diminishing physical abilities. The potential impact of this research is wide-ranging; it may assist both dance practitioners and pedagogues to approach their dancing from an equipped, empowered position as they age. This article offers strategies and best practices cited by 33 surveyed working and retired dance educators to expand career options and extend active participation in the dance field. Participants discuss challenges related to the aging process, and they also model creative problem solving and illustrate grit, resilience, and positive momentum. Their narratives expand notions about the meanings and methods of teaching technique throughout academic dance careers.