Motor Aesthetics: Redefining Dance Movements for Cerebral Palsy Students in Extracurricular Learning at YPAC Semarang

Abstract

Dance education for students with Cerebral Palsy (CP) in specialized educational institutions largely adheres to a rehabilitation paradigm that positions movement as a medium of physical therapy, causing the aesthetic potential inherent in each student's neuromotor characteristics to be often overlooked. This study aims to analyze the learning process of extracurricular dance at YPAC Semarang in producing the concept of motor aesthetics, a condition in which the typical motor characteristics of CP students are not considered as technical deviations but are redefined as meaningful artistic expressions in inclusive arts education. A qualitative approach with a single case study design is used. The data was collected through in-depth interviews with two dance instructors, Rus Hayati and Sri Jarwani, which were conducted on April 9 and 16, 2026, along with participatory observation of the Peacock Dance and Golek Dance sessions held every Thursday at 08.00 WIB. Data analysis using the interactive model Miles, Huberman, and Saldana, includes data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing that are carried out simultaneously during the research process. Three main findings were identified. First, instructors apply adaptive instructional differentiation by grounding the choreography to each student's actual body capacity, integrating motor characteristics as artistic elements rather than correcting them as technical errors. Second, the integration of music therapy serves as a rhythm-based pedagogical scaffolding that supports motor synchronization while increasing students' affective involvement in dance learning. Third, the learning orientation directed at public performances builds students' artistic identity, making wirasa in Javanese dance a driver of motor development that is more effective than repetitive physical exercises. These findings confirm that motor aesthetics is a pedagogical model that repositions the body of CP students as artistic subjects whose movement experiences have original aesthetic value. In the phenomenological perspective of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the body is understood as a living body that builds meaning through the experience of movement, so that the redefinition of dance movements in inclusive learning no longer rests on normative physical standards but on the experience of movement that is directly inhabited by each student. This study recommends the development of an inclusive dance curriculum based on motor aesthetics that respects the diversity of the body and movement modalities as an integral part of the practice of art education in Indonesia.