ABSTRACT
There are many writings on the creative process in artistic practice, yet few relate specifically to dance composition. It is acknowledged and assumed that the dance composer is a creative artist and that the same principles relating to the processes of other artists, music composers, playwrights, visual artists and so on, apply to the choreographer. In contemporary dance practice, dancers contribute movement material and therefore can influence the creative process and outcome composition. Writers such as Abbs refer to the importance of play and spontaneity in the initial stages of the process, whereas Eisner suggests that this preliminary stage requires the use of skills to manage and manipulate the material in order to create some starting point. Abbs proposes that there are five phases in creativity: the impulse to create, working with the medium, realising the final form, presentation and performance, response and evaluation.
