Improvisation as a technique

The aim of this study is to make visible how dance teachers work with feedback when teaching improvisation. Furthermore, the aim is to articulate which improvisational abilities that appears the most forthcoming through teacher’s feedback. The study investigates how teachers communicate feedback when teaching improvisation at an upper secondary school level and which abilities that are made central by the feedback.

This qualitative study is conducted through a micro ethnographic and multimodal perspective. These perspectives are also used as methods together with field studies and is combined with semi-structured interviews, stimulated recall, transcriptions and a qualitative analysis of the empirical material. Three teachers have participated in the study. The results show that all teachers use feedback when teaching improvisation. All teachers use multimodal resources to communicate their feedback, such as bodily gestures, looks and touch. The   importance of having structured assignments for their students is highlighted by all teachers. The ability to have a tactile presence when improvising is made central by the teacher’s feedback. The results also show that improvisation is not seen as “free, spontaneous movement” – contrary to previous research that is presented. The study should therefore be seen as an argument that improvisation is not “free dance”.