Rhizomatic encounters

dance improvisation and its correlates to altered states of consciousness

Masterarbeit Masterstudium Movement Research RA 066 767

ABSTRACT: This research paper investigates the correlates between dance improvisation and altered states of consciousness. As many dancers report of extra-ordinary or ineffable experiences through improvisation, the purpose is to identify why and how this correlation emerges. Research findings are based on interviews conducted with artists in Linz, literature from philosophy, psychology, critical dance studies, existing improvisational dance practices, and the author’s personal practice and experiences. These transdisciplinary findings are contextualized through the philosophical concept of the rhizome, which highlights existence as a complex string figure of intra-actions. The main findings correlating dance improvisation to altered states of consciousness include openness to and a simultaneous immersion in the practice. Dance improvisation becomes marked by novel forms of attention, availability for spontaneous emergences, and a perpetual sensing and re-discovering of the dancer’s personal rhizome. The author concludes that this heightened state of sensitivity and awareness present during improvisation correlates to the experience of altered states of consciousness.

86 Seiten