The acceptance of error: allowing imperfections to transform the collective

This thesis follows the inspiration and creation of the dance work "How Dare We (Ever Be) All" from conception and creation through performance in the University of Utah's Graduate Thesis Concert in December of 2016. In this thesis, I investigate how the human capacity for failure can infiltrate and transform the choreographic process. The inability to live up to "ideal" expectations is illuminated through the choreographer's and dancers' responses to imperfections and disruptions. Responses from the cast and choreographer in rehearsals are then sorted into two categories: either avoidance or adaptation. Avoidance reactions are reconciled through methods of adaptation and are developed within the creation of the work to help imperfections and disruptions serve as an influence with which to create.