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.

Notice · Describe · Reflect

Notice
What draws your attention as you watch? Notice movement, patterns, relationships between dancers, and how the space is used. You might also notice design elements such as music, lighting, or costume.

Describe
Try to put what you observed into words. Describe the movement, energy, or atmosphere of the piece. What words capture the qualities of the movement? How did the dancers travel through space? What gestures or images stood out?

Reflect
Consider your experience of the dance. What moments stayed with you after the performance ended? What questions, emotions, or ideas did the work leave behind?

Prompts for Writing About Dance

What was the first image or moment that caught your attention?

What kinds of movements repeated throughout the piece?

How did the dancers move through space? Did they travel widely or stay contained?

What words would you use to describe the energy or feeling of the movement?

Did the dancers seem to move together, separately, or in contrast to one another?

What role did music, sound, or silence play in shaping the movement?

How did costume or lighting affect what you noticed on stage?

Did any gesture, phrase, or image stay in your memory after the piece ended?

How did the atmosphere in the room feel while the dance was happening?

What questions or feelings did the dance leave you with?

Glossary for Writing About Dance

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, pulsing, accelerating, decelerating, syncopated, wave-like.

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

Music and Sound

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.