Interweaving Somatic Practice and Theory: A Dancing Researcher’s Aesthetic Experience

This paper presents a personal, autoethnographic account of how a distinct theory, namely selected aspects of the extended mind theory, can give rise to novel aesthetic experiences while dancing Argentine tango. It illustrates the enhancement of an aesthetic practice that is forged by, but also transcends, the interplay between theory and practice. The report recounts how theoretical propositions regarding the distribution of agency in extended cognition, when applied to a somatic practice, can uncover novel aesthetic experiences and approaches towards the author’s own dance practice. The aesthetic experience is described as the sensation of being danced by the interactions between the dance partners and the music, which afford somatic awareness. Furthermore, the paper emphasises the often-neglected significance of a researcher’s personal inclinations towards and the practical effects of the theoretical propositions they engage with.