Abstract
For performers, specifically dancers and actors, the body constitutes the vast majority of focus and training. It is what we present onstage, share with audiences, and contract to casting directors and choreographers. Our bodies, the way they look and move, directly influence the amount and quality of work we make. The concept of body neutrality, then, poses an interesting challenge for performers and those of us who train them. How do we balance a healthy relationship with the body while also thinking critically about all of the ways our bodies carry meaning in performance? How do we, as educators, promote this way of thinking in our studios and classroom spaces? This critical commentary will explore the relationship between the body and the performer, the application of body neutrality, and ideas of how to encourage a healthy and resilient relationship with the body. Key discussion points include the role of mirrors in the movement studio, the potential benefits of somatic approaches, the use of affirmations, and the particular challenges of body neutrality for marginalized bodies and identities. The commentary also includes approaches to the classroom used by the authors, a dancer/choreographer and an actor/director, respectively. Rather than viewing neutrality as standard or emptiness, the authors see neutral as an openness for potential and a way towards self-acceptance and resilience.
Recommended Citation
Vaughn, Kerstin A. and Baird, Emily
(2025)
"An Attitude of Openness: Adapting Body Neutrality for Performers,"
Feminist Pedagogy: Vol. 5:
Iss.
4, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/feministpedagogy/vol5/iss4/4
Included in
Accessibility Commons, Acting Commons, Dance Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Health and Physical Education Commons, Liberal Studies Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons
