Improvisation in Process: “Post-Control” Choreography

Abstract

Many contemporary choreographers use improvisation as a choreographic method. With cross-disciplinary historical antecedents, especially in post-World War II avant-garde art, improvisation remains a particularly relevant practice in today's cultural climate of political and economic uncertainty. This article describes an elastic dialogue of choreographic control in a rehearsal process that involves improvisation. A creative practice with such recurrent exchanges of control underscores a view that improvisation intimately affects choreographic choice, performance quality, and audience understanding.