Writing About Dance

Newfoundland and Labrador has a vibrant and active arts community, yet there are relatively few writers regularly engaging with the arts, and even fewer writing about dance.

As an ephemeral form, dance often disappears once the performance ends, leaving little written record of the work being created or the ideas shaping the field. This absence of writing means that many artists and performances are not documented, discussed, or shared beyond the moment of presentation.

Untellable Movement Theatre believes that writing is an important way to extend the life of dance and deepen public engagement with the form. In response to this gap, Untellable offers this resource as a starting point for audiences, artists, and writers who are interested in reflecting on dance and developing confidence in writing about movement.

A Generous Approach to Witnessing Movement

Dance can feel difficult to write about. Unlike theatre or literature, movement disappears as quickly as it appears, and many people feel they lack the vocabulary to describe what they’ve seen.

But writing about dance does not require technical expertise. It begins with something much simpler: attention.

Writing about dance is the practice of witnessing. It invites us to slow down, observe carefully, and translate what we experience in the room into language that allows others to imagine the moment.

This approach is grounded in curiosity, generosity, and the understanding that every viewer brings a unique perspective to a performance.

Start With What You See

The most helpful place to begin is with observation rather than interpretation.

Before asking what the dance means, try describing what is physically happening.

Notice:

  • the direction of movement

  • changes in speed or rhythm

  • how dancers use space

  • gestures that repeat or transform

  • moments of stillness

Write the Body in Motion

Dance lives in the body. When writing about dance, try to describe movement in ways that capture its physical quality.

Pay attention to:

  • weight (heavy, suspended, grounded)

  • energy (sharp, fluid, sustained)

  • relationships between dancers

  • the atmosphere of the room

These details help readers experience the movement through language.

Allow Space for Interpretation

Dance rarely communicates a single fixed meaning. Different viewers will experience the same work in different ways.

Strong dance writing often leaves space for ambiguity.

Instead of explaining the work, consider writing about the questions or images it created for you.

Read the Room

Dance happens not only on stage but also in the relationship between performer and audience.

What did the room feel like?

Was there tension, quiet, anticipation, laughter?

Writing about the atmosphere of the space can be just as important as describing the choreography itself.

Practice Generous Writing

Writing about dance should deepen the conversation around the work rather than close it down.

Ask:

  • What is the artist exploring?

  • What moments stayed with me?

  • How did music, lighting, and costume support the work?

  • How did the work shift my perception?

Five Questions to Ask When Watching Dance

  • Where is the movement traveling?

  • What qualities of energy do you see?

  • How do the dancers relate to one another?

  • What role do design elements play?

  • What stayed with you?

Glossary for Writing About Dance

This glossary offers vocabulary that can help describe movement, performance, and the environment in which dance occurs. Writing about dance does not require specialized terminology, but shared language can make it easier to describe what you observe and communicate the experience of movement to others.

Direction

Direction describes where movement travels in space and how the body is oriented as it moves. Movement may sustain a single pathway or shift direction throughout a phrase.

Straight directions:
Forward (toward the audience), backward (away from the audience), side-to-side (lateral movement), upward (toward a higher level), downward (toward the floor).

Angled directions:
Diagonal (traveling at an angle across the space), oblique (slightly off-axis), crossing (traveling across the stage), cutting across space (sharply redirecting through space).

Curved and circular directions:
Circular (moving around a central point), arcing (following a curved pathway), looping (repeating circular patterns), orbiting (moving around another dancer), spiraling (twisting while traveling), coiling/uncoiling (twisting inward and releasing outward).

Directional changes:
Reversing (moving back the way one came), redirecting (changing pathway mid-phrase), pivoting (turning to face a new direction), rotating (turning around an axis), switching pathways (abrupt shifts in travel).

Orientation of the body:
Facing forward, facing away, profile (sideways orientation), inward-facing (toward other dancers), outward-facing (toward the audience or space), multi-directional (continually shifting orientation).

Scale of movement:
Expansive (traveling widely across the space), contained (remaining within a small area), traveling (covering distance), stationary (largely in place).

Pathways

Pathways describe the routes movement takes through space. While direction refers to where movement goes, pathways describe the pattern that movement creates over time.

Common pathways include:

Straight lines, diagonals, curved pathways, circular patterns, zig-zag pathways, spirals, looping patterns, and intersecting pathways between dancers.

Movement may travel across the stage, trace a repeated pattern, or remain contained in a small area. Some choreography emphasizes expansive pathways that cross the entire performance space, while other work focuses on contained pathways that stay within a single location.

Writers may also notice shared pathways, where multiple dancers follow similar routes, or contrasting pathways, where dancers move through space in opposing or intersecting patterns.

Energy and Movement Quality

Energy describes how movement is performed—its texture, intensity, and physical feeling. Two dancers may perform the same choreography with completely different qualities of energy.

Weight and effort:
Grounded, weighted, light, floating, suspended, pressing, releasing.

Movement texture:
Fluid, sharp, percussive, staccato, elastic, soft, rigid.

Intensity:
Explosive, dynamic, forceful, subtle, delicate, volatile.

Rhythm and flow:
Sustained (continuous), pulsing (repeating waves of energy), accelerating (speed increasing), decelerating (slowing), syncopated (off-beat rhythm), wave-like (energy traveling through the body).

Emotional tone:
Playful, tense, urgent, calm, joyful, introspective, defiant, tender.

Music and Sound

Dance may respond to music, sound design, spoken text, or silence. Consider rhythm, tempo, musical phrasing, silence, spoken language, and how movement aligns with or contrasts the sound environment.

Costuming

Costume shapes how movement is perceived. Notice color, texture, silhouette, and how fabric moves with the body.

Lighting

Lighting shapes the visual environment of a performance. It may highlight particular dancers, create mood or atmosphere, or define areas of space on stage.

Atmosphere

Atmosphere describes the feeling of the room during a performance. Words might include tension, quiet, anticipation, playfulness, intimacy, or stillness.