The dancer is inhabited by a multitude of
choreographic movement traces. Perhaps these past embodiments never fully
dissolve but recirculate to become part of her/his moving present. In this
paper I will explore how choreographic movement impacts on the dancer’s body
schema, body image and subsequently her/his sense of self. This is outlined
through explorations from the first person position, encompassing both a
somatic and phenomenological perspective.
I argue that the dancer’s moving identity is a correlation of past
movement experiences that settle into what Deleuze and Guattari describe as a plane of consistency. This accumulation
of embodied experiences can limit and restrict choices as well as offer
possibilities for new choreographic adaptations. Taking the performance
‘Altered Copy’ as an example I illustrate how dancers might speak back to the
choreographic works with which they engage, so that movement traces might
unravel and be redirected.