In this essay, I reflect on my personal journey as a performer and collaborator during the ICP course. In my past learning experiences， I have played multiple roles — sometimes as a performer, sometimes as a creator, and often as both. In one of my 2023 semester performances, for example, I collaborated with classmates to choreograph different sections of a single song, which we later combined into a complete piece. In that process, I was both a performer who interpreted others’ choreography and a creative leader who designed my own section with personal ideas. When working as a collaborator, I have always been open to others’ opinions and tried to follow the leader’s direction while also adding personal touches to my role. For instance, when performing in the children’s play Elmer the Patchwork Elephant, I often improvised humorous moments during rehearsal, which the director later approved. Therefore, I have never been just a passive follower; I have always wanted to contribute ideas and creative details to group work. However, in the new environment of the ICP course, coming from a different cultural and linguistic background, I found it difficult to express my thoughts in English. This language barrier limited my ability to contribute creatively at first. Then I will analyse three key experiences from the ICP course — the Tomorrow exercise, the Yes, we can… improvisation, and my personal workshop.
Through these, I show how I transformed from a follower to an active co-creator. Using Jo Butterworth’s Didactic–Democratic Framework (2018) and Liz Lerman’s ideas from Hiking the Horizontal (2014), I will explore how my collaborative role has evolved and how I can continue to develop creative agency as both a dancer and an emerging choreographer.
My Collaboration Experience in ICP
During the ICP course, I participated in several group projects that required collaboration between performers, choreographers, and musicians.At first, I mainly followed instructions, supporting other people’s ideas rather than offering my own.
At the beginning of the ICP course, our first group task was to create a short performance — music, dance, or drama — based on the theme Tomorrow. While I was still processing the assignment, my group members had already started a lively discussion. We first introduced our backgrounds: I shared that I was good at singing and dancing, and that I had experience directing performances. That gave me some confidence. However, when it came to proposing ideas, I quickly realised that my English limited me to being a listener rather than an active speaker.Fortunately, I understood Chris’s idea about setting the story in an airport. Drawing on my previous experience with musical theatre, I could roughly imagine the atmosphere he described. As an international student, before I speak, I usually need to prepare sentences carefully in my mind, which slows me down. Often, by the time I am ready to express an idea, the group has already moved on to another topic. Still, I enjoyed moments when we discussed familiar songs or musicals — I could join in confidently and even sing along. However，I sometimes felt frustrated that my creative ideas were not fully understood or heard.
Therefore, I focused on being a good listener and performer. Chris kindly prepared a written script and divided the lines equally among us, which made me feel included and valued. Tom, who composed the music, even discussed with me the idea of adding Chinese lyrics to represent cultural diversity. Although we eventually dropped this idea due to time limits, that conversation made me feel recognised as part of the creative team. When we started rehearsing with the script and sheet music, I felt language was no longer a barrier — the notation and rhythm became our shared language.
I felt the friendliness of my classmates in the class. They didn’t exclude me from discussions and participation just because I was a foreigner. When I tried to ask questions or express my thoughts, they listened to my not-so-fluent sentences patiently, as if I were a toddler learning to speak. They also gave me multiple explanations to help me understand. Moreover, they would demonstrate through expressions and gestures how to do a certain part. This experience made me realise how collaboration can transcend words. Music, rhythm, and body movement became new languages for me to connect with others. I started to notice how people used small gestures, facial expressions, or simple sounds to communicate creative ideas. It was a reminder that being a good collaborator is not only about speaking fluently but also about listening attentively and responding intuitively.
Theoretical Frameworks and Application
- Jo Butterworth’s Didactic–Democratic Framework describes five levels of collaboration between choreographers and dancers — from “choreographer as expert / dancer as instrument” to “choreographer as co-owner / dancer as co-owner.” This model shows how creative control can gradually shift from one person to shared authorship.
In my case, most of my early ICP collaborations were somewhere in the middle — I could interpret and contribute to others’ ideas but did not yet fully co-own the creative process. For example, in one class, we were each asked to lead a short workshop. One of my classmates from Director led a game. First, she led us to walk in an open area, following her instructions to stop, jump or clap our hands. In the second stage, we had to do the opposite of what she instructed, which often left us unable to react in time, adding a lot of humor and also exercising our brains. It was a fun warm-up that helped us connect quickly. Another classmate, who was a music director from China, divided us into three groups to clap different rhythms and then switch patterns. Through that task, I realised that creativity does not always depend on fluent language — we could communicate effectively through rhythm and body. This discovery boosted my confidence to experiment more and move toward a more democratic way of creating.
One of the most memorable workshops for me was when my Chinese classmates taught a few Chinese tongue twisters to the group. I was both surprised and touched by this activity, because tongue twisters are a basic vocal training exercise that we used to practise in our undergraduate musical theatre programme. Although I have practiced English tongue twisters here as well, they are too difficult for me. What my classmates can understand after hearing once, I still need to listen ten times to barely be able to hear the pronunciation clearly. Many times, this practice passes by so quickly that I don’t even have the chance to learn word by word. This is indeed not very friendly for non-native speakers. But if we teach them character by character, it will be different. When I see the students trying hard to imitate our facial expressions and pronunciation, I realised how joyful and meaningful cultural sharing can be. It reminded me that our artistic learning is not only about technique, but also about understanding and appreciating different traditions. This experience encouraged me to think that perhaps, in the future, I could also share some of my own learning methods in a humble way, to contribute to such exchanges.
“When we hike the horizontal, we move away from ranking art forms from high to low, and instead look across a wide field where each artistic practice holds equal value.”
(Lerman, 2014, p.23)
- Liz Lerman’s concept of “Hiking the Horizontal” (2014) invites artists to see all forms of art as equal rather than ranked vertically. Instead of viewing “high art” at the top and “community art” at the bottom, she turns the line sideways — making all expressions exist on the same level. This idea deeply influenced my understanding of collaboration.
“The rule of ‘Yes, and…’ means you must accept everything your partner proposes and add to it. There is no blocking, no denying, only building together.”
(Robinson, 2015, p.97)
In the “Yes, and…” improvisation activity, we followed the rule of “Yes, and…” — meaning we had to accept and build upon whatever others proposed. There was no rejection, only continuation. This structure, from Davis Robinson’s Ensemble Devising (2015), encouraged collective imagination. During the exercise, I found that language barriers disappeared. Our communication happened through movement, gestures, and reactions. I could express myself fully with my body without worrying about grammar or vocabulary. This made me feel equal to others — free to contribute and respond spontaneously.
Reflection: What I Learned
Through these frameworks, I began to understand collaboration as a shared learning journey rather than a hierarchy. True cooperation, I learned, does not depend solely on verbal communication or authority but grows from trust, openness, and physical dialogue. The “Yes, and…” approach reminded me of Lerman’s horizontal vision — creativity flourishes when different perspectives coexist equally. This session also reminded me that art-making is a dialogue between bodies and minds. When someone suggested an idea, others would instantly respond through movement, transforming the proposal into something new. Just like while we were performing the previous action, I quickly visualized the next action in my mind and expressed it using “yes, and…”. When my classmates quickly understood me and followed along with me to perform the next action, it was an entirely new experience. That sense of flow and mutual trust made me realise that collaboration is like a dance itself — it needs rhythm, awareness, and balance. By embracing uncertainty and letting go of control, I discovered that creative energy often appears in the moments when no one tries to lead.
Future Development: From Contributor to Co-creator
Looking ahead, I hope to take a more active and creative role in future projects. One practical step is to design small choreography experiments where I create short dance phrases and invite classmates to respond or modify them. I also plan to collaborate more with native English speakers to improve my confidence and communication.
According to Butterworth’s framework, I aim to move toward the role of “choreographer as facilitator and co-owner,” where ideas are shared, discussed, and negotiated. I also want to “hike the horizontal” by creating inclusive spaces in which everyone’s artistic contribution — regardless of background or language — is equally valued.
In the long term, my career goal is to work in music education, focusing on collaborative learning. I want to create classrooms where students learn to listen, communicate, and create together — just as I learned in the ICP course. I hope to support students who face challenges similar to mine, such as language barriers or lack of confidence in expression. Moreover, I do not only want to be a choreographer; I also aim to become a vocal ensemble and musical theatre creator, integrating singing, movement, and storytelling into one educational approach.
Reflecting on my journey, I now see that collaboration is not just about producing a performance but about understanding others and finding my own voice within a group. At the start of the ICP course, I was a follower who mainly executed instructions; now, I have become an artist who can imagine, suggest, and create alongside others. In the future, I will continue to build confidence, improve communication, and strengthen creative leadership as I keep hiking across the horizontal field of collaboration.
Bibliography
Butterworth, J. (2018) Teaching choreography in higher education: A framework for understanding creative processes. In: Butterworth, J. and Wildschut, L. (eds.) Contemporary Choreography: A Critical Reader. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, pp. 177–192.
Lerman, L. (2014) Hiking the Horizontal: Field Notes from a Choreographer. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
Robinson, D. (2015) The Physical Theatre Handbook: A Practical Guide for Actors. London: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.
