Dear Practice ... : The experience of improvising

Developing out of The Choreographic Lab, a research environment at the University of Northampton, United Kingdom, this article takes the form of an (imaginary) exchange of letters between a dancer and her improvisation practice. The letters embody the experience of dancing – physical, emotional and memorial. These corporeal resonances weave throughout the letters giving rise to critical discourses in an exploration of the nature of improvisation. Collectively articulating ontological features of improvisation, the letters are shaped around concepts of vulnerability, intuition and unfolding, regret, (dis)appearance, memory, nomadism and pleasure.