Thesis (BA Communication Arts) -- University of the Philippines Mindanao, May 2016

This study is a quantitative-qualitative dance production thesis that aimed to communicate embodied knowledge of teenage pregnancy among female students aged 15-19 years old. A focus group discussion was done with eight teenage mothers in Barangay 21-C in Davao City determine their physical, emotional, and financial experiences during pregnancy, followed by in-depth interviews with teenage mothers in Barangay Matiao in Mati City to validate the data from Davao City. Thematic analysis was used to extract themes from the data. Then a survey was conducted with female students aged 15-19 years old from Matiao National High School ? Special Program for the Arts about their knowledge on teenage pregnancy issues and the dance production elements. The dance choreography and performance consisted of movements translated from the themes of the experiences of teenage mothers under three categories: physical activities including the symptoms of pregnancy and daily activities, emotional experience, and financial experience. The dance genre was contemporary, accompanied by a piano instrumental arrangement of the song spolarium. Eight of the respondents volunteered to join the dance, and after their performance, they underwent debriefing and evaluation session through a focus group discussion. According to the dancers they were able to feel as if they were pregnant through the dance even though none of them acted as pregnant. Therefore, dance as kinesthetic communication can be a medium for embodied knowledge.