Creating Breathing Spaces in a Brazilian Pharmacy School

This creative autoethnographic paper presents the narrative of a clinical pharmacist and pharmacy educator navigating a transformative journey through qualitative methods and arts-based pedagogies. Drawing upon the metaphor of dance, I reflect on three decades of teaching within a rigid and technical curriculum, working to infuse pharmacy education with humanity, emotion, and relational care. Using performative writing, student voices, and critical pedagogy, the narrative traces the creation of new educational spaces—what I call “dancing in the margins.” The piece interweaves personal memory, classroom dialogues, and autoethnographic methods to explore the radical potential of listening, vulnerability, and qualitative inquiry in professional education.