Vital signs : poetry, movement and the writing body

This article outlines a collaborative enquiry between a dancer and a poet. It considers some past and present collaborations between poets and dancers before framing the authors’ interest in the traditions of North American Post-modern dance and European Physical Theatre. Utilising Daniel Stern’s theory of vitality dynamics (2010) and his interest in interdisciplinary artistic collaboration, the authors consider some key aspects of their creative work in the light of these ideas, focusing in particular on the usefulness of the concept of syntax for reflecting on the interrelation between language and movement.