Sense-making and meaning-making through dance improvisation
By: Alessandra Randazzo
| ARTICLE INFO: Volume: 12 Issue: 01:Summer 2026 ISSN: 2459-2943 DOI: 10.18680/hss.2026.0009 Pages: 167-188 Lic.: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 |
KEYWORDS: Improvisation Meaning-Making Prompts Sense-Making Skills |
ABSTRACT
This article aims to address one of the gaps frequently identified in semiotics, namely the study of dance, and more specifically of forms of dance improvisation that remain open-ended, in contrast to the highly structured improvisation found, for instance, in Argentine tango. As such, these practices contribute to a reexamination of collective composition in contemporary dance, insofar as choreographers frequently use improvisation as both choreographic material and a compositional tool. From this perspective, I argue for an important distinction between sense-making and meaning-making – a distinction that is rarely made in studies of improvisation – by highlighting the different phases that unfold before, during, and after dance improvisation. I then examine what is typically valued in improvisation, namely sense-making, by analyzing its nature (open-ended, polyphonic, self-referential, autopoietic) as well as the processes through which it emerges (cognitive and intuitive skills; feedback loops). This ultimately enables me to bring to light a cyclical, rather than linear, temporal process, thus offering a renewed perspective on what may be called semiosis.
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