Choreographic Public Dialogues:
Visible Thought
by
Dana Caspersen
About the Author
DANA
CASPERSEN
is a conflict special-
ist, award-winning
performing artist
and author of
Changing the Con-
versation (Penguin
2015). She teaches,
mediates, and cre-
ates choreographic
public dialogue proj-
ects internationally,
and was recently
a speaker at TEDx
Hackney, London.
danacaspersen.com
I am a practitioner in the fields of both conflict
resolution and dance. The work of dancers and choreographers involves thinking physically—coming up
with choreographic strategies to give ideas form. The
work of a conflict specialist involves helping people in
conflict to communicate with each other effectively.
When I began working in conflict, I had
already been a performer and creator
in dance and theater
for 30 years. I was
aware of the subtlety and power of
physical processes
for creating experience and provoking
transformation in a
performance context, but I initially
rejected the idea
of using choreographic strategies in conflict. I was
afraid that by bringing my work in the two fields
together, I would end up with a watered-down, ineffective mishmash of both practices. After a period
of trial and error, I realized not only that insisting on
this separation between practices was a bad idea–
because I was ignoring a lot of valuable information
and limiting my possibilities–but that trying to take
the body and physical thinking out of the conflict
equation is not possible. The body is where we live;
it is already part of every conversation whether or
not we are conscious of its engagement. Conflict is
already choreographic.
ical strategies to make ideas and experience visible.
The choreographic public dialogue processes I am
developing are models that use simple, physical
movement as a way for people to communicate
their beliefs and experiences around challenging topics. In these choreographic dialogue models
there is no audience,
only participants,
and there is no dancing, performance
or physical skill
required. Instead,
the models offer
a series of highly
structured settings
where participants
use motion and
language to consider questions and
unfold stories.
photo by Marion Borriss
Author photo by
Dominik Mentzos
When I began working on these models, I didn’t
trust that people would be willing to move in a public
dialogue setting. However, what I have found is that
when the choreographic strategies I employ have
an evident purpose, are effective as communication
tools, and are not embarrassing, people are not only
willing to move, but they often feel more comfortable
communicating through motion initially. Many participants report that beginning with motion makes it
easier for them to use language later on.
Over the last few years, I have been developing a
series of choreographic public dialogues that use
thinking and practices from the fields of both dance
and conflict. Two of these projects are “Knotunknot”,
an ongoing choreographic public dialogue on immigration developed in Germany, and “Violence:
Recode,” an ongoing, international series of choreographic public dialogues on violence.
These models illuminate the way we shape and
are shaped by societal systems. The temporal, spatial, rhythmic and physical conditions posed by these
choreographic frameworks render the thinking of
the participants physically visible. By transferring
meaning to motion, form, and physical location in
the room, the models use action to create a situation
where each participant is contributing their thoughts
and experiences to the dialogue, without necessarily needing to speak.
CHOREOGRAPHIC STRATEGIES
To choreograph is to organize ideas physically. A
choreographic public dialogue is one that uses phys-
The goal of these choreographed models is to bring
larger societal dialogues to the level of the individual—giving form and motion to the ordering systems
through which we see the world. They also offer a
physical way to recognize and consider how we navi-
