ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some of the issues and challenges involved in choreographing dance in community settings. Some of these dances are created with performers from an existing community group; in other cases the dancers have been brought together for the duration of the project and, after the performance, the group disperses. In addition to community dance that is performed in theatres, work is often presented in a variety of venues including prisons, city centre parks, seaside promenades, hospital wards, village greens, schools and shopping centres. The chapter develops work that is authentically co-produced and participatory in a meaningful way. It focuses on the choreographic process, the relationship between performers and choreographer, and the extent to which dancers feel a sense of ownership of the dance material they perform. Interviews with other community dance artists have revealed a range of perspectives together with some similar approaches to collaborative choreography and shared ownership.
