As dance teachers and facilitators we believe that we operate within a creative paradigm that encourages dancers to explore an infinite variety of possibilities and experiences. A primary concern of ours is to create a safe space that allows for experimentation, rather than to exercise absolute control. In order to achieve this we often use creative dance techniques as a way of encouraging a process that is not leading to performance or product but rather is working towards transformation of the individual. We work in a way that encourages dancers to explore moving and creating in an imaginative and intuitive way that might eventually lead to the invention of new forms, be they evanescent.
It is true that we are encouraging dancers to work from the inside out: finding a balance between the internal and the external. Over a period of time we want to encourage the dancer to let go of inhibitions, preconceptions, anticipations and of stored behavioural patterns and ways of moving. In essence, we want to find ways of supporting the dancer to shelve personality and to replace this with discovery of the true self, the core of one's being: a self who has a uniqueness of identity, who embodies a freedom of expression.
We believe that this process of self-discovery is cumulative and can be linear or non-linear, continuous or discontinuous. We see it as an unfolding; grounded in someone's own terms of reference and understanding. Process can be tangential or circuitous but there is an understanding that the person ends up in a different place, and we always hope that the journey, with its deviations from the familiar, will carry the individual along a gradient of understanding and comprehension and that the process or processes will spiral in an escalation of self-awareness.
Individuality therefore, is encouraged, and through the personal creative 'adventure' it is hoped that a feeling of well-being, happiness and self-fulfilment is arrived at. Isn't this what dance and the arts in general are all about: transformations, changes, working within a shared belief that art can inform and move people towards experiencing a sense of self worth and of being able to contribute to the making of something, be it transient and ephemeral?
To look at this process from a more sober perspective, it may appear that in the magical microcosm of the dance space, we are cultivating a community that is devoid of judgement and where 'anything goes'. This is not the case: we do not disregard notions of quality. What we attempt to do is create an environment in which definitions of good and bad, or right and wrong, are more malleable and less prescriptive. Individual progression and self-actualisation are enabled through an open, free process that is unhindered by the need to adhere to imposed or inappropriate measures of 'goodness'.
In reality, perhaps we have succeeded only as far as creating an unreal or indulgent space: an oasis, a safe experimental haven that allows and cultivates the self to emerge and 'be' in a temporary state. This leads us to consider whether the conviction of our beliefs and the strength of our working methods lie in our ability to practice them on a daily basis both in and out of the studio. Can the dancer - or facilitator - transfer processes and experiences from one context to another, unconsciously or consciously? Can we pierce the vacuum of the studio and hope that our creative selves will continue to thrive when exposed to the hostile environment of the outside world?
This raises several new questions for us as we begin to consider the motivation for, and consequences of our work. Firstly, on a superficial level, who are we to assume that people need to transform or change? Secondly, perhaps people do not want to be taken on a journey of self-discovery through moving, improvising and creating. We also find ourselves questioning whether, in setting out our beliefs, we have created a framework within which we are bound to operate, therefore contradicting the desire for non-prescriptive methodologies and freedom to stray from the confines of a predetermined model. It also concerns us that perhaps what we are creating is an environment in which people can feel safe to be 'themselves' - sometimes in a radical and idiosyncratic way - that in a different context would be unacceptable behaviour and somewhat incomprehensible, and yet we celebrate this uniqueness. This is why we are involved in dancing and delivering dance. But are we encouraging an unacceptable way of thinking and being that in actuality doesn't transfer and translate into the realms of day-to-day living?
Most of us at times have experienced our existence in the external reality as being quite ruthless and alienating. In this tumultuous, aggressive and fast paced post-modern society, is encouraging utopia and freedom of expression somewhat dangerous? Our interpretation of the 21st century is rather cynical and sceptical. We are bombarded with images via mass media of how to be, per se. To deviate from the norm is actually in reality rather difficult. Societal systems are in place that measure performance and judge success. Benchmarks from birth to death are set and we are expected to meet these in order to feel a meaningful and 'winning' member of society. Expectations and standards are high and are often aligned with product rather than process. We may be led to believe that our journey to success can be creative and self led and that we possess a will that informs our choices, yet somehow it seems that ultimately, belonging and self worth all come down to end products, to accolades of achievement that are tangible and quantifiable.
Against this, we come from a standpoint that firmly adheres to the idea that the creative self is not quantifiable and to attempt to measure it is in fact contradictory to the beliefs we hold and want to practise and pass onto to dancers and others. Attempts to quantify the transformative capacity of dance in its unique and transitory nature can seem futile and appear to undermine the essence and the value of the creative journey towards self-discovery. Transformation of the self through the creative act is neither attributable to external factors nor accountable to external criteria: it is self-motivated and self-monitoring. It is a phenomenon that is spontaneous, idiosyncratic, unpredictable, quirky and non-linear; it should be celebrated for being so and should not be subjected to externally imposed value systems.
The connection between the self-created reality in the studio and an existing reality in the outside world can thus appear contradictory, tenuous and at times non-existent. Yet at times we can feel in ourselves both fully integrated and cognisant of the continuum between these two 'spaces'. It seems possible that it is the growing awareness of the creative self that helps us to achieve this. Perhaps we draw upon our creative selves to deal with conflicts and contradictions that arise in the outside world?
Through creative dancing and dance making, we can begin to acknowledge and accept our experiences and the processes by which we make meaning. We can encourage ways of moving from the internal to the external world, trying to find a balance between the two so that the boundaries are not permanent and fixed, rather they are more fluid, more interactive. But ultimately the process and the journey is an individual and uncharted one, which will continue to challenge, frustrate and motivate us throughout our existence as dancers, facilitators and human beings.
In conclusion, we find that the drive to analyse our practice and to explain ourselves is fraught with the danger of appearing contradictory or unconvincing. It feels like an impossible task to be able to offer arguments that are decisive or well reasoned. We are passionate about our beliefs and practice and yet when faced with the need to contextualise and confirm their impact we resort to the emotive and generalised use of language. We do this in order to protect the essence, enormity and complexity of dance, dancing and dance making. It seems that language cannot do justice to the substance of what we do, how we do it and why we do it. Nevertheless, self-reflection is a necessary and laudable aspect of our lives as dance practitioners. The process of questioning is in itself fluid and creative and allows us the freedom to consider variables and contradictions in a safe and, we hope, non-judgemental space.
Manny Emslie and Sue Akroyd are lecturers in Dance, Liverpool John Moores University. Email: m.a.emslie@livjm.ac.uk From June 2004 Sue Akroyd joins the Foundation for Community Dance as its programme manager.