Blog 4: Journey into Embodiment
When Practice Becomes Research
6/23/20251 min read
When Practice Becomes Research
There was a point during this research when I realised I was no longer entering the studio to create movement...
I was entering with questions.
Rather than planning choreography, I began each session with a simple intention...
What happens if I change my breath...?
What happens if I introduce voice...?
What changes when I slow everything down...?
Instead of looking for the "right" answer, I became interested in observing what unfolded through the practice itself.
This is where Practice-as-Research began to make sense to me.
The studio became more than a rehearsal space...
It became a place of enquiry.
Each session informed the next...
Each observation created another question...
Rather than separating theory from practice, I found myself moving between reading, exploring, reflecting and returning to the studio again.
Keeping a reflective journal became an important part of this process. It allowed me to capture small discoveries that might otherwise have been forgotten and helped me recognise how my understanding was developing over time.
Studio Reflection
Today's exploration returned to the same movement phrase...
again...
and again...
The choreography stayed the same...
but my breath changed.
Each repetition felt different.
Sometimes the movement felt lighter...
Sometimes it felt more grounded...
Sometimes it revealed something I hadn't noticed before.
I realised I wasn't changing the choreography...
I was changing the way I experienced it.
Perhaps this is what Practice-as-Research means to me...
Giving myself permission to stay curious...
to return...
to question...
and to discover something new through the practice each time.
Looking Ahead
As this research continues, I hope to deepen my exploration of embodied voice practices through movement, breath and reflection. I also hope these discoveries will contribute to future workshops that encourage dancers to explore presence, expression and authenticity through embodied practice.
References
Barbour, K. (2004) ‘Embodied ways of knowing’, Waikato Journal of Education, 10, pp. 227–238.
Feldenkrais, M. (1972) Awareness Through Movement. New York: Harper & Row.
