Dance as a Third Space Place: A Collective Case Study on the Impact of Dance Education on High School Students in Hawai‘i

Abstract

This is a qualitative collective case study examining the experiences of three public high school graduates who participated in dance programs in three different public high schools in Hawai‘i. I explored how high school dance classes provided the three main participants with third spaces to do one or more of the following: (a) be themselves/express themselves freely, (b) shed preconceived notions of themselves/take on brand new or hybrid identities, (c) release stress/escape everyday problems, pressures, and struggles, (d) begin to know themselves better/improve their self-concept, (e) feel safe to make mistakes/try new things, and (f) generate positive relationships with others/develop a sense of belonging in a safe/nurturing community. Key concepts related to this study include movement and learning, the arts in the curriculum, dance in the curriculum, the marginalization and othering of students in schools, and dance as a third space. This research project is based on third space theory, and incorporated the talk-story method of interviewing, grounded theory, and elements of narrative research to examine the impact of third space dance places on the lives of the study’s three main participants.