Being Queer: How the act of moving in Queerness brings us towards creativity and joy / Yee Tim Candace Lo (2022)

This creative practice research situates the Queer body as the main site of exploration, with specific focus on Trans, Non-Binary and gender non-conforming bodies. By focusing on embodiment located in Queer bodies, it works towards developing dance/movement practices as methods to investigate the potentiality of finding home within the body.

Against the backdrop of rising visibility and violence against Trans people, the severe lack of accepting spaces for Queer folks to explore their body and gender, underrepresentation of Queer folks in dance/movement (academic) sector — the need for safe Queer dance/movement spaces is crucial.

This research is conducted through an auto-ethnographic approach, stemming from personal lived experiences of a genderqueer dancer. It draws from wider contextual understandings of existing Queer creative (dance/movement) spaces in the UK, combined with course teachings and solo studio practice, to develop group practice methods, which bring Queer folks towards connectivity with the self and others.

Through the act of being and moving in Queerness together with others, the research was developed into workshops and interviews, culminating in an installation sharing created from text, drawings, video/audio recordings.

This research demonstrates the beginning of a life-long creative practice to contribute to shifting awareness of dance/movement spaces towards accessibility and inclusivity, prompting the dance/ movement (academic) field to reconsider binary gender perspectives and language; sharing the joy and creativity of dance/movement with Trans, Non-Binary and gender non-conforming folks, offering a deeper sense of the body as a place of Queer creativity and joy.

Keywords: Queer, Trans, Non-Binary, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, gender diverse, lived experience, embodiment, somatic movement, dance, joy, creativity, safety Content warning for mentions of Queerphobia, Transphobia, body shaming, emotional and physical violence, discrimination based on race, class, religion and disability.