DANCING: SOCIAL REPRESENTATION AND HEALTHY BEHAVIOUR

Abstract

Objective: of this article is to make understandable how dancing academies transform the representation of dancing from social intercourse to health behavior. Methodology: qualitative study following a theoretical perspective, interactive symbolism and analytical strategy based on grounded theory. Twelve participants in the Caja de Compensación Familiar de Antioquia (Comfama sponsored dance program were interviewed. Results and discussion: for the surveyed people dance changes from social rewarding intercourse into healthy behavior. Significant roles are performed by dancing sponsors and dancing teachers and new relationships arise in groups, classrooms and when dancing.  Conclusions: there are three mediation agents: the sponsoring institution, the classroom and training time and through them determinant social psycho processes are interwoven. Accordingly the participants left behind their ways of thinking about dance, parties, cigarette and booze and began considering dance as a beneficial health activity.