The Role of Dance and Music in 21st-century Education: Revisiting the Concepts of Dalcroze, Kodály, and Orff

Abstract

This article re-examines the classic concepts of musical-movement pedagogy in the context of contemporary educational challenges. It analyzes the holistic impact of dance and music on child development, encompassing the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional domains. The paper argu es that the methods of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Zoltán Kodály, and Carl Orff, based on the principle of embodied cognition, provide a necessary counterbalance to the technology-dominated, sedenta ry model of education. Dance is presented as a universal cultural phenomenon and a fundamental tool of expression. The neurobiological foundations of movement’s impact on learning processes are discussed, emphasizing its importance in reducing school-related stress and supporting diverse cognitive styles. Attention is also drawn to the crucial role of the family environment in building the foundations of musical creativity. The work as a whole demonstrates that the principles of the pione ers of music and movement education have not lost their relevance, and that their conscious imple mentation can serve as a response to the crisis of the humanistic dimension in modern schooling.