Reimagining The Aging Body In Dance Creation: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Artistic Reflection Among Mid-Career Educators

Mid-career dance educators aged 40–60 undergo embodied transformations that remain understudied through rigorous phenomenological inquiry. While deficit-based aging frameworks often obscure these creative and pedagogical shifts, emerging evidence shows that embodied knowledge continues to deepen across the lifespan. This study examines how six Indonesian dance educators aged 42-55, each with 16-25 years of professional experience, perceive and reimagine the aging body as a generative site for artistic reflection and embodied creativity. Using semi-structured interviews (18 sessions, 60-90 minutes each) and creative observations (18 sessions, 90–120 minutes each), data were analyzed through a phenomenological approach informed by Husserlian epoché, Heideggerian hermeneutics, and Merleau-Pontian embodiment. Five key themes emerged: intuition shaping somatic insight; limitations catalyzing creative innovation; finitude deepening artistic sincerity; aesthetic reorientation toward expressive depth; and aging educators as intergenerational knowledge resources. The findings challenge ageism in dance education and demonstrate that embodied aging enhances creative and pedagogical capacity.