I have never been much of a dreamer. Maybe a better term for what I am is imaginer. Spinning fantasies as a way of putting myself to sleep as a child, I realized I could repeat the stories and develop the details. At first they were ridiculous odes or adventures in which the heroine saved the world, or at least married the smartest man. Much later, as I began my life as choreographer, I employed this same device to picture a dance. I tested big notions such as how to end a dance, or I repeated details in trying to conceive the clearest movement vocabulary or most vivid costume.Before anyone discounts this form of imaginative activity, let me say that fantasy thinking combines the best of letting go with the best of pushing through in the forceful pursuit of an idea, story, or cause. I can sit and wait until the image presents itself, or I can go after it like a cowboy searching for a runaway colt. And both these activities can happen in a split second.
Post-imagination interviewing is another very productive activity in my habits of work and mind. I ask myself, “I wonder why I wanted to think about that now? What is this telling me about my life, or this world, or my beloved family?”
Imagination is a formidable vehicle for creating and understanding self, spirit, and the world. It is an underused resource. It is a
wonderful partner.
Liz Lerman is founding artistic director of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. www.danceexchange.org
