This study investigates the role of movement-based performing arts (MbPA), emphasizing bodily imagination, in enriching the educational experiences and teaching strategies of bachelor-level physical education teacher students. It seeks to develop physical education teacher students’ professional identity through an intervention rooted in creative movement and MbPA practices. Research emphasizes the transformative potential of the arts in fostering socio-material, bodily, and creative dimensions of learning (Anttila, 2018). Specifically, MbPA, with its focus on kinesthetic, imaginative, and bodily expression, provides valuable tools for shaping the professional identity of future physical education teachers (Cañabate, Colomer, & Olivera, 2018). Defined as a transdisciplinary field integrating dance, theater, and performance art, MbPA is driven by physical perceptual sensitivity (Zarrilli, 2020) and bodily imagination (Cappello et al., 2024a), fostering creativity through movement improvisation (Cappello et al., 2024b). This approach encourages the creation of movement languages that reflect the performers’ unique bodily, contextual, and educational aspirations (Cañabate et al., 2017; Leandro Kees, 2016). The study employs Artistic Action Research (Coghlan & Brydon-Miller, 2014) and involves 33 fourth-year undergraduate education students (58% women, 40% men, 2 % non-binary; mean age: 21.2 years). Ethical protocols, including informed consent and confidentiality, were upheld, and the study received institutional approval (University of Girona, code: CQUdG2024/04EPS). Intervention activities were designed to use performative tools and creative movement exercises that encouraged students to explore and reflect on their professional identity. Framed as a participatory art-education research project, the project invited students to critically examine their practices and personal experiences. Data analysis was based on 213 reflective narratives (Colomer et al 2018, 2020) written by students across six 90-minute sessions. Using the Rubric for the Construction of Identity (Alsina et al., 2017), qualitative analysis revealed that engaging with MbPA supports the development of bodily, creative, and kinesthetic skills critical to the professional identity of physical education teacher candidates.

Keywords: Teacher identity, creative movement, physical education, bodily imagination, movement-based performing arts.