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Embodied learning in arts education
In a time where learning often stays in the head, the idea of embodied learning reminds us that real learning happens through the whole body.
Not only by listening, thinking, and analysing — but also by feeling, moving, and experiencing.
The LKCA (National Centre for Arts Education and Amateur Arts in the Netherlands) recently dedicated a full issue of Cultuur+Educatie to this topic.
In Cultuur+Educatie 68, artists, researchers, and teachers explore how embodied learning and teaching take shape in arts education.
Their message is clear: the body is not only an instrument to play or move with — it is a source of knowledge itself.
At CRE8 Academy, we fully agree. Because if something defines the arts, it’s the connection between head, heart, and hands.
What is embodied learning?
Embodied learning means that knowledge is not separate from the body — it is built through the body.
We do not only learn about music, dance, or theatre — we learn through music, dance, and theatre.
The LKCA describes in Cultuur+Educatie 68 how embodied learning appears in many disciplines: from dance and theatre to music and visual arts.
What all these forms have in common is attention to the sensory and experiential — learning by doing, feeling, repeating, experimenting, and reflecting.
As guest editors Melissa Bremmer and Luc Nijs write: embodied learning builds a bridge between thinking and doing, between mind and feeling, between individuals and their context.
Why is embodied learning important in arts education?
For anyone teaching — or wanting to teach — in the arts, embodied learning offers a foundation that goes beyond technique and theory.
Here are five reasons why this approach matters:
- Learning becomes deeper and longer-lasting
When knowledge comes through physical experience, it stays longer.
A musician who feels a rhythm instead of only reading it, understands it on a different level. - Space for non-verbal knowledge
Much of what happens in arts education cannot be fully expressed in words.
The body gives us another kind of language — one that connects knowledge, emotion, and expression. - More inclusion and accessibility
Not everyone learns in the same way.
By using body-based, sensory, and experiential methods, we create space for different learning styles and cultural backgrounds. - Reflection through movement
Embodied learning invites reflection through action:
What do I feel when I play, sing, or move?
What does that tell me about my way of learning or teaching? - Connection with practice and community
Learning doesn’t stop inside the classroom.
By using embodied and experiential methods, education connects to the real world — to students’ lives, colleagues, and communities.
Inspiration from Cultuur+Educatie 68 (LKCA)
The LKCA issue offers many real-life examples showing how embodied learning can look in practice.
- Ulrike Scholtes describes the body as a research tool: not something you have, but something you do.
- Farida Nabibaks shows how embodied learning supports inclusive art practices, combining cultural identity and physical experience.
- Marloeke van der Vlugt explores how space, installation, and movement can create new forms of knowledge for both students and teachers.
These examples show that embodied learning is not only about improving skills — it’s about developing awareness of body, space, and relationships.
👉 Read more (in Dutch) on LKCA – Cultuur+Educatie 68: Embodied Learning and Teaching
How to bring embodied learning into your own practice
Embodied learning is not a fixed method — it is an attitude.
A way of seeing learning as something that happens between people, bodies, and spaces.
Here are a few simple ways to start:
- Start with the body: begin a class with breathing, short movement, or a sound exercise to create awareness.
- Use the senses: include touch, sound, space, and rhythm as ways to explore ideas.
- Encourage experimentation: let students try, feel, and even fail — that’s part of the learning.
- Combine experience and reflection: connect physical activities with short discussions or writing.
- Work across disciplines: invite guest teachers from other art forms to open new perspectives.
At CRE8 Academy, we support teachers and artists who want to deepen their teaching practice.
Our programs offer space for experimentation, interdisciplinary exchange, and reflection — always treating the body as a full partner in learning.
Embodied learning and the future of arts education
The heart of arts education is not only about sharing knowledge, but about activating imagination, presence, and connection.
By taking embodied learning seriously, we invest in education that:
- touches deeper,
- lasts longer,
- and connects more fully with the person behind the artist.
As the LKCA writes: Embodied learning turns education into a living process — a dialogue between body, mind, and environment.
Learning and growing together
At CRE8 Academy, we believe the future of arts education doesn’t start in the head — it starts in the body.
Where music, movement, and sensory experience meet, meaningful learning begins.
Would you like to explore how to apply embodied learning in your own teaching or organisation?
Visit our website or contact CRE8 Academy — together we build inspiring and inclusive arts education.
Article by Lotte van der Kleij
