We wanted to break with prejudices- that´s where it all started.Podcast as a tool to develop a norm-critical pedagogy in dance education.

This master thesis explores issues about academic dance education in the dynamic of a traditional and contemporary expectations in the discipline. In dialogue with dance students at an aesthetic program in the context of the upper secondary school/ the gymnasium in Sweden, dance theory is analysed from a norm-critical view. The students have created podcasts about dance styles such as dancehall, twerking, azonto and voguing. The analysis of the data has used action research as a method. The purpose has been to develop the didactics in the course Dance theory in order to reach an increased goal fulfillment, new knowledge and meaning in relation to curriculum and syllabi expectations. The study includes a research overview of dances from the African diaspora, African aesthetics and vernacular dance as well as the whiteness norm and intersectionality.     The podcasts have been analyzed in relation to governing documents, traditions of teaching dance and theories of resistance and participation. The joint result from the podcasts about dancehall, twerking and azonto emphasizes the importance of respectfully putting dance styles in a context of origins and history. At the same time, there is an encouragement for cultural encounters where hybrid forms of artistic expression can emerge. Central to the podcasts with voguing is for example that dance can offer a place where you can be yourself despite sexual orientation and norm-breaking lifestyle in a chosen community, and feel safe and accepted.     The results from the podcasts call for, and challenge, the governing documents (curriculum and syllabi) for norm-critical views of inclusion and diversity in terms of power, gender norms, tradition and values. Traditions and the norm of whiteness are challenged through various intersections of gender, color and identity etc., and a new canon of dances can take place. The gap between young people's interests and academic dance has diminished during the process of investigation, thanks to a joint acquisition of knowledge and discussions, even though consensus has not been the goal. Based on theories, we can interpret that each new generation will continue to challenge contemporary norms and values.