Nomadism and Ethics in/as Improvised Movement Practices

Abstract

Whilst much dance improvisation focuses upon qualities of presence and the importance of being ‘in the moment’, a review of improvisation practices reveals a lexicon that is full of terms suggestive of territories, journeys, flows, connectivities, metamorphosis and transformations.This language, and the dances that generate them, are suggestive of temporal, physical and geographical shifts and embody underlying nomadic concepts. Thereby, drawing on my own experiences of dancing and observing dance artists such as Eva Karczag, Miranda Tufnell, Nancy Stark Smith, William Forsythe and Kirstie Simson, I seek through this article to reveal these inherent nomadisms and consider there implications for ways of being and knowing.