Dancing With children or dancing for children? Measuring the effects of a dance intervention in children’s confidence and agency

Dance has benefits in children’s development, including increased selfconfidence, physical and mental growth. While much research explores preschool children’s experiences in dance courses, most studies involve pre-designed choreographies led by adults. Some argue that young children have limited ability to create their own choreography. This research challenges that by giving children the opportunity to co-create choreographies, with practitioners, using music of their choice. A new dance framework, Dancing with Dr E, was implemented over 5 months in five preschool classrooms in London. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with practitioners. The findings revealed numerous instances where children’s participation increased, showing excitement and multimodal communication. There was a noticeable increase in children’s confidence, by becoming more vocal about their needs and ideas. Due to the limited number of participants and the absence of a control group, further research on the effects of dance education in children’s confidence and agency is recommended.