Key effects of inclusive dance for adults with developmental disabilities: embodied agency, relational self-understanding, and conditions of wellbeing

Abstract

Introduction This study explored the inclusive dance experiences of adults with developmental disabilities through the lens of embodied agency and critical phenomenology. Most previous research on arts participation has focused on outcomes such as emotional stability, social connectedness, and quality of life. However, less is known about how arts participation, specifically inclusive dance, is experienced and sustained. This study examined how rehearsal and performance experiences engender embodied possibilities, relational self-understanding, and conditions of wellbeing. Methods This qualitative case study included three adults with developmental disabilities who had accumulated between 9 and 13 years of participation in an inclusive dance company in Seoul, along with their primary caregivers. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations, focusing on repeated rehearsals and performance practices, everyday experiences, and relational interactions. The data were analyzed through repeated readings to identify key themes, using a phenomenological perspective for directional interpretation. Results Inclusive dance participation was experienced as a process through which participants encountered their bodies and possibilities anew through repeated performances, relational coordination, public recognition, and environmental flexibility. Rehearsal and performance enabled participants to experience their bodies as capable, while their sense of agency was shaped by moving with others and adjusting to shared performance situations. Their performance experiences extended their self-expression and relational self-understanding through public recognition and role-taking. Sustained participation was maintained and negotiated through bodily conditions, temporal arrangements, mobility support, caregiving relationships, and flexible performance environments. Discussion This study interprets inclusive dance as a participatory experience in which the body, relationships, norms, and everyday world intersect for adults with developmental disabilities. Its contribution lies in suggesting that the meaning of arts participation cannot be understood only as a psychological change or program effect. Rather, inclusive dance can be understood as a process involving embodied agency, normative visibility, relational self-understanding, and conditions of sustained participation.