The possibilities of expressive movement and creative dance tasks to provoke emotional responses

Abstract

Recent research has focused on the influence of emotions on sport performance, as well as on the state of wellbeing among those who engage in physical activity. The aim of this study was to analyse the emotional responses of students engaging in expressive movement and creative dance, as well as observe the influence of type of task on these responses. Eighty students from a degree course in physical activity and sport sciences participated in fourteen, fifty- minute expressive movement and creative dance sessions. After each session, the students all recorded in personal diaries the sensations and emotions they experienced during each task. The diaries were analysed by three researchers, who classified the emotions and the tasks. The results showed that engaging in this activity primarily provokes comments related to positive emotions and that type of task may condition the emotions experienced.