Drumming and dancing: creative movement for Convention refugee youth in a physical activity space

Convention refugees are individuals who have fled their home countries due to a substantiated fear of persecution. As a consequence, many young Convention refugees are disconnected from their environment as they enter schools and communities and are often misunderstood in their new country due to cultural barriers. Given the universality of human movement, the physical activity setting can be an important space through which acculturation can be fostered. The purpose of this ethnographic study was to capture the nuances and experiences of 17 Convention refugees engaged in a community program. Significant moments, at the point of data saturation, were validated through observations, ethnographic interviews, artifacts and participant observations. The process of data analysis produced four themes: (a) embodied space (b) proxemics, (c) collective sharing (d) rhythm. Through triangulation, the appearances of creative movements were captured in tandem with rhythm, thus recording individual expressions within a collective space [Paulson, S. (2011). The use of ethnography and narrative interviews in a study of ‘cultures of dance’. Journal of health psychology, 16(1), 148–157]. The exploration of cultural and situational frames through drumming and movement can attempt to build an emotional bridge to support acculturation. Creative movement is a culturally relevant way to engage individuals in dialogue by asking them to tell us what they know to be moments of truth [Oliver, K. L. (1998). A journey into narrative analysis: A methodology for discovering meanings. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 17, 244–259]. This collective sharing lends itself to physical activity environments where there are opportunities to foster creativity, encourage intersectional identity, and support Convention refugee acculturation.