How is the dancing in these chapters symbolic? What does each dance teach Cole?

In the whale dance, Cole notices how whales migrate but do not have a home, and he feels understanding with them.

The lesson of the wolf dance is “that you need the help of others, like a wolf pack.”

Cole’s Spirit Bear dance reenacts the scene of the mauling from the perspective of the bear. In this dance, Cole begins to understand empathy and forgive instead of holding anger. By placing himself in the skin of his enemy, he accepts the hurt that he felt and the ensuing anger towards the Spirit Bear.