Chapter 3: Emerging insights and evolving practice
Chapter 3 is structured in three parts. First, "From somatic depth to choreographic form" offers a reflection on how the choreographic work evolved across the four developmental phases, focusing on key insights related to the artistic methodology. Next, "Key Insights" presents overarching conclusions that encompass the entire research project, highlighting thematic, creative, and methodological findings. Finally, the sections "Emerging Questions & Limitations," "Future Development," and "Continuing the Journey" explore the open-ended nature of the inquiry, laying the groundwork for future exploration and connecting back to the foundational creative DNA that initiated this research.
From somatic depth to choreographic form
This research has led me to understand that choreography can move beyond the design of fixed structures or choreographed sequences, unfolding instead as a living, breathing process rooted in the somatic depth. Seeking to understand the intangible nature of dance from a more physical perspective, I turned to somatic practices that positioned the body not as a passive form, but as a dynamic archive of lived experience (Hanna, 1988) and an oracle capable of offering new pathways for movement (Manning, 2007).
The initial somatic explorations formed fertile ground for compositional development. Movement was not treated as material to be perfected, but as an evolving expression, revisited, fragmented, and redirected without erasing the emotional traces embedded within it. Compositional methods such as deconstruction and spatial transformation ensured that the emotional core of the material remained intact, even as it evolved into more structured, performative forms.
Throughout this process, I shifted fluidly between facilitative and directive modes, making space for the dancers’ own voices to emerge while maintaining an overarching artistic vision. Listening, to the material, to the group, and to the somatic depth within each dancer, became as crucial as giving direction.
Ultimately, this research made me experience on a profound level how creation can arise as a collective process, emerging from shared attention, presence, and connection. Performative states developed organically, grounded in the somatic depth of the dancers and the relational field between them.
This understanding has fundamentally reshaped my view of creation: I now see choreography not as something placed onto the body, but as something that grows from within it.
The following key insights summarize not only the artistic exploration, but also broader reflections that arose throughout the entirety of the research project.
Key Insights: Translating inner conflict into artistic expression
1.The Body as Archive and Oracle
Working somatically proved to be a highly effective approach for guiding a diverse group of participants, varying in age, background, and dance experience, in physically embodying the inner conflict between self-criticism and self-acceptance. Because somatic methods do not rely on prior technical training, they created an inclusive space where each participant’s embodied knowledge could surface and be valued. This insight highlights that deep, somatic engagement offers not only access to personal memory and new movement generation, but also a way to foster authenticity and equity within the group, forming a strong basis for translating internal tensions into artistic expression.
2. Metaphorical power of movement qualities
Working somatically and focusing on movement qualities such as tension and release, contraction and expansion, push and pull, and breath proved to be a powerful method for physically accessing the emotional terrain of self-criticism and self-acceptance. Instead of generating material through direct dramatization of inner conflict, which would have led to literal and predictable outcomes, the body itself became the source of metaphorical expression. This insight highlights that by improvising from embodied sensations rather than thematic concepts, participants could translate complex emotional states into rich, abstract movement, deepening both the authenticity and artistic resonance of the work.
3. Structuring the artistic process
Working with a diverse group of non-formally trained dancers revealed the importance of clearly shaping the creative process. A long phase of somatic exploration was essential to access deeper layers of physical presence, but challenged some participants who were used to shaping dance phrases into finished material early in the creative process, without engaging in open-ended research.
This insight highlights that, in guiding participants toward embodying and artistically expressing inner conflict, the structure of the creative process itself must be carefully designed. Preparing dancers for the open-ended nature of early explorations, explaining their necessity from the start, and gradually moving toward clear choreographic form helps build trust, reduces discomfort, and supports both depth and artistic richness.
4. Balancing Facilitation and Leadership in Choreography
The transition from open exploration to structured composition revealed that guiding a diverse group toward artistic embodiment requires responsive leadership. Balancing intuitive creation with conscious shaping allowed deeply embodied material to evolve into a coherent dance form. This process mirrored the inner dynamic at the heart of the research, navigating between openness and structure, self-criticism and self-acceptance. It showed that a choreographer’s sensitivity to when to facilitate and when to lead more decisively is crucial for helping participants physically express inner conflict and transform it into an artistic whole.
5. The Value of Dramaturgical and Artistic Coaching
Working with a dramaturg and an artistic coach proved crucial in guiding the translation of inner conflict into expressive choreographic form. Their feedback exposed blind spots, sharpened thematic focus, and provided a vital outside perspective that enriched both the creative choices and the articulation of the work. This insight highlights that having a critical, reflective partner throughout the process can significantly strengthen a choreographer’s ability to guide a diverse group in embodying and artistically expressing complex inner experiences.
6. Refining Embodied Awareness Through Dramaturgical and Artistic Coaching
The dramaturgical and artistic coaching provided essential contributions to the research process. Their feedback revealed a crucial gap: while my attention often naturally focused on the participants' well-being and the compositional structure of the piece, the somatic and relational dimensions were less consciously addressed. Although I intuitively sensed issues, such as dancers moving functionally rather than from embodied awareness or the group not fully moving as one cohesive body, I lacked concrete tools to translate these observations into embodied practice.
The coaching highlighted how working with aspects such as gaze, energetic cohesion, groundedness, responsiveness to residual energy, and relational attunement could profoundly affect the group's physical and spatial coherence.
In Equilibrium, this shift became tangible: we integrated specific exercises to awaken sensory and relational awareness, allowing form to emerge from lived experience rather than being imposed externally.
This process not only refined the work’s quality but also directly informed the research inquiry into how form can arise through embodied, relational, and somatic attentiveness rather than through pre-set compositional structures. It illuminated the delicate, often intangible layers that distinguish functional execution from deeply alive performance, marking a significant deepening of my choreographic and research practice.
7. Overall arch of the piece
The limited rehearsal structure (only two hours per week) influenced the rhythmical arch of the piece. The short working sessions led to a choreography built from small, separate dance fragments, creating a rhythmic structure of solos, duets, and group moments following each other in a brief and unintended rhythm. Dramaturg and artistic coach helped me realize that this sequencing risked reinforcing a more literal or formalistic approach, something I seek to move beyond. In response, I began extending tension arcs and transitions to create a more continuous and embodied flow, for instance by stretching a duet from one to three minutes or a solo to five minutes. This experience underlined the importance of consciously shaping the temporal and rhythmic dramaturgy as an integral part of form development, and of anticipating how rehearsal schedules impact artistic choices. It strengthened my understanding of how the translation from inner states to artistic form can be deeply connected to the structure and rhythm of the creative process itself.
8. Audience reception and emotional resonance
After the performance, I gathered informal audience feedback through foyer conversations, 18 questionnaires, and WhatsApp messages from friends and family of the dancers. Clear patterns emerged: viewers engaged deeply with the non-literal, metaphorical language of the performance, intuitively associating scenes with experiences like boundary-setting, social pressure, burnout, and communal care. Specific moments, such as a dancer reclaiming space through breath, or the collective lifting of a fallen dancer, were strongly recognized as metaphors for personal struggle and healing.
This insight highlights that translating embodied inner conflicts into abstract, somatically grounded movement can resonate powerfully with an audience. It confirmed that an emotionally rich and recognizable landscape can be evoked without resorting to explicit storytelling, supporting the notion that somatic composition offers an accessible yet profound pathway for communicating complex internal processes to a broader public.
The sum of these insights not only inform my own evolving practice, but also suggest ways in which somatic, relational, and metaphorical approaches could support participatory choreography more broadly, particularly in community and educational contexts. At the same time, the insights gained throughout this process have deepened my understanding of how somatic methods can translate inner conflicts into artistic expression, but have also raised several open questions and limitations that remain unresolved, which I hope to explore in future projects.
This research has laid the groundwork for a methodology that I intend to continue developing: one that centers somatic awareness, participatory authorship, and choreographic sensitivity in equal measure. In future projects, I aim to integrate energetic and relational principles, such as residual presence, groundedness, energetic connection, and three-dimensional use of space, at the outset of the process, rather than encountering them late-stage through dramaturgical refinement.
I also see strong potential for this work to evolve within communal and educational settings. Many of the participants in this process joined not to "perform" in the traditional sense of showcasing virtuosity or technical mastery, but to find something meaningful for themselves, something they could process, express, or understand through movement. This reflects my own history with dance as a space of refuge, expression, and self-discovery in my youth. In this sense, my creative DNA is rooted in a deep drive to explore the inner tension between the longing for self-acceptance and the fear of never being good enough, shaped by emotional undercurrents of early attachment wounds. This inner dynamic continues to ignite my passion for using dance as a medium for emotional expression, and connection.
It affirms my identity as an educational maker: someone who creates choreographic processes that invite participants to connect personal experience with artistic exploration.
Ultimately, Equilibrium revealed that dance does not offer resolution, but the possibility of coexisting with tension, of holding paradoxes, of breathing through uncertainty, of shaping fleeting sensations into form. It affirmed my belief that choreography can be a space where personal transformation and collective meaning-making unfold simultaneously, where movement becomes a language for what we often cannot yet say.
Building on these aspirations, the journey continues toward refining and deepening this evolving practice.
Continuing the Journey: Expanding somatic and relational practices
This process has not simply applied existing frameworks but contributed to the evolution of a methodology rooted in practice. By articulating and refining intuitive methods developed over decades of teaching, I now have a more conscious understanding of how to design rehearsals that weave together embodiment, exploration, and composition. The recurring physical parameters, push and pull, breath, tension, and release, will continue to guide my work. I plan to further explore how transitions, recurring motifs, and in-between states, such as the subtle energetic spaces between movement and stillness, contribute not only to choreographic clarity but to emotional depth and narrative flow.
Equilibrium has taught me that choreography can be both a container and a catalyst: a space that both holds personal experiences and activates transformation. It enables dance to spark reflection on themes such as self-criticism, social pressure, and inner wounds, bringing the personal into dialogue with shared social and cultural realities.
This project marks a beginning. I look forward to carrying its insights forward, into new themes, new groups, and new explorations of what it means to move, to feel, and to be seen. In the long term, I hope this research contributes to a creative strategy centered on working with diverse dance communities and exploring the embodied traces of emotional struggle, resilience, and transformation.
Beyond the practical aspirations, this process has deepened my trust in the power of dance to shape, express, and transform lived experience.
