DANCING THE CARIMBÓ AT SCHOOL

an approach to Amazonian culture and Decolonial Pedagogies in Dance

Abstract

This paper approaches dance in the formal curriculum of basic education aiming to build knowledge through experiences with Brazilian dances, specifically carimbó. The methodology involved the interdisciplinary project "Carimbó, Regional Culture and Sustainable Development", with 4th grade students from Colégio de Aplicação, a basic education school of the Federal University of Roraima. We started by understanding Project Pedagogy, with simultaneous planning of didactic sequences in Portuguese Language, Geography, Dance, Music, and Physical Education. We reflected on the interdisciplinary experience in Dance and Physical Education. The construction of knowledge included the following stages: Research on the history of carimbó and its characteristics; experiences of carimbó circles in the classroom; conversation circles; and a performative experience during the culmination of the project outside the classroom, with carimbó circles including live music and members of the school community, including the children's families. This experience led to participants’ recognition of carimbó as a cultural heritage and a fruit of popular resistance of communities in Pará. Due to the performative and festive nature of the dancing circles, carimbó was also the starting point for reflections on inclusion models that aim to integrate the body in school spaces. The recognition of carimbó as heritage was based especially on an affectionate approach to this dance, as well as on a discovery of this manifestation as an Afro-American resistance. Beyond a traditional Dance Pedagogy, we recognize in the memory of carimbó — in its festive elements and its influences from the indigenous worldview — paths for a Decolonial Pedagogy in Dance.