Expanding movement spaces: A proposal for including K-pop dance in the PE classroom

Abstract

The cultural movement known as Hallyu (or Korean Wave) and the transnational popularity of K-pop music and dance have long been established as an important phenomenon in the global world, including in Latin America. This form of South Korean contemporary popular culture has had a major impact, especially among the young population. Most of them are familiar with the music, and dance plays a major role in the K-pop culture, drawing special attention to the body performance and its meanings. Teenagers, girls or boys, get together in their free time to express themselves with their bodies. At the same time, dance practice contributes to improving physical fitness and developing social skills. Facing the problem of sedentary lifestyles in present times, the objective of the study is to establish the relevance of dance as an integral physical activity within the physical education curriculum. In particular, introducing a popular dance with no gender exclusion would be easy to incorporate, as many young people are familiar with this genre. This qualitative research is approached from the anthropology of dance and ethnographic perspective applying Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) as a method for describing, visualizing, interpreting, and documenting all varieties of human movement. Data was collected through prolonged fieldwork with young amateur K-pop dancers in Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela considering the significant impact of Hallyu in Latin America, especially among the young population. Results have shown the potential of K-pop dance to develop movement skills, creativity, sociability, and gender comprehension, as well as the positive impact on personal development and emotional health. The conclusion is that teaching K-pop dance in the PE classroom would offer benefits as integral bodily exercise; furthermore, it increases the awareness of cultural diversity in the global world and contributes to deconstructing naturalized gender roles. This fact reinforces the importance of a transdisciplinary perspective in sport and physical education where social sciences play an important role.