| Abstract: | Dance, as a medium of body and mind, holds profound potential for conveying deep inner spirituality. Learning to dance as a means of emotional expression naturally connects individuals to communities and bridges the present with the past. This study investigates how an inner-driven approach to dance creation can facilitate cross-generational connections between college students and miners' lived histories through storytelling and performance.
Guided by Taoist philosophy, particularly the self-cultivation principles of the Tao-Te Ching and the Zhuangzi,, a dancer—both a researcher and college faculty—leads general education students through the "Dance as Nonverbal Communication with Environmental Exploration" service-learning course. At Taiwan’s Northern Miners’ Cultural and Historical Museum, miners share firsthand experiences, allowing students to internalize these narratives, ultimately culminating in a cross-school collaborative music-dance performance.
Students with no prior dance experience engaged in embodied storytelling, transforming miners’ life stories into creative expression through the integration of body and mind rather than just movement. Over two months, their performances enabled audiences to experience miners’ emotions, evoking deep resonance among former miners. More than an artistic endeavor, this process synthesized performers’ vitality and self-awareness, fostering meaningful artistic expression.
These pure and profound feelings extend beyond emotions, carrying forward into others’ lives and echoing the spirits of the past. Reflections, photographs, and miner interviews illustrate how dance transcends time and space, serving as an emotional conduit that connects generations. This study underscores the transformative power of dance as an embodied language—one that unites, inspires, and preserves narratives beyond words. |
