Dancing strategies and moving identities: the contributions independent contemporary dancers make to the choreographic process

This chapter begins with a review of the working context of independent dancer, showing how this field of practice shifts previous concepts of dancers as neutral messengers of the choreographic intent by uncovering the creative strategies needed to work within this field. Drawing on the author’s experience alongside interviews and literature from other dancers, the chapter proposes that independent dancers enrichen the dance making process through bringing their embodied histories, movement archives and strategic knowledge to the creation of a dance work. By linking professional perspectives to scholarly enquiry, it will be of interest to dance practitioners and scholars alike.