Dance Response
This is an example of an audience talkback format that you can use and adapt for your own production.
Introduction
Dance Response was designed to:
- encourage observation and reflection about dance work over judgement
- slow down and pay attention to what we notice, remember, feel and wonder
- this is about your experience as audience
- about 40 min, popcorn style discussion, come and go as you need
Process
It is important to note that the artists who have performed are generally not included in this discussion. There should be a facilitator who will:
- Lead the group in a discussion steaming from 5 questions that start at the very base level of observation, using just our sense and move to more complex ways of understanding
- Encourage participants to stay in the level of the questions
- Speak your ideas as they come to you. We are here to talk to each other as audience members
- We all have the same information
Questions
- Thinking simply, what happened in your body while you were watching the show?
- What did you notice about the space?
- How did you see yourself in this work?
- What did you wonder?
- What would you have changed?
- What else do you need to discuss to go home and write about this work?
Acknowledgements:
Dance Response takes inspiration from Liz Lerman's Critical Response. CAPACOA presented workshops on Critical Response in 2014 where Judy Harqual and Tim Yerxa introduced the protocol to many dance presenters, including Barbara Clausen who brought it back to Vancouver where I encountered it. I also want to acknowledge the many discussions I had with Deanna Peters in the process of developing and testing the process; her contributions significantly impacted the final result.
Author: Kristina Lemieux
Kristina Lemieux created Dance Response while working as the Program Manager for CADA/West.