Session D1. Embodied Narratives: Telling Our Personal and Collective Stories Through Dance and Movement

Presenter:
Jennifer Puig, Dance & Movement Teaching Artist, Arts for Learning Miami 

How do we tell our stories when words are not enough? This interactive, movement-based workshop explores how dance and embodied narrative practices can center voice, identity, power, and collective storytelling in educational and community spaces. Grounded in dance/movement therapy principles, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), and inclusive arts education, participants will engage in experiential tools including Laban Movement Analysis, the Four Elements framework (Air, Fire, Earth, Water), mirroring techniques, and the BrainDance developmental sequence to explore both personal and collective narratives. 

Participants will embody: Air as personal narrative, breath, and idea sharing; Fire as power, voice, boundaries, and advocacy; Earth as grounding, embodiment, and ancestral presence; Water as relationships, empathy, and emotional flow. Through guided improvisation, group mirroring, and collective choreography, participants will experience how movement becomes a tool to center whose stories are told, how they are received, and how collective meaning is created. The session aligns directly with the conference theme, Telling Our Story, while offering replicable, trauma-informed, and inclusive movement strategies for classrooms, residencies, and community-based arts programs.