The Dance of leadership: Balancing freedom and control in creative collaboration
Personal Context: Leadership as an Ongoing Journey
Throughout my choreographic journey, I have often found myself grappling with questions of leadership. Am I too hesitant? Do I create enough clarity? These questions frequently surface when I navigate the balance between guiding dancers and empowering them as co-creators. The Zandwacht project provided a fertile ground to explore leadership strategies while also confronting my own insecurities and tendencies toward overthinking.
Exploring Leadership Frameworks
Jo Butterworth’s Model: From Didactic to Democratic Leadership Jo Butterworth’s framework for choreographic leadership—ranging from didactic to democratic approaches—served as a cornerstone for my reflections. Butterworth (2012) emphasizes the importance of flexibility in choreographic leadership, suggesting that choreographers must adapt their approach based on the context and needs of the creative process. She highlights how choreographers could refine their understanding of various roles within the choreographic framework through practice and reflection, applying these dynamically to balance structure and creativity (p. 366-368, p. 383). This insight resonated deeply as I navigated the Zandwacht process. In early rehearsals, I leaned toward a democratic approach, inviting dancers to shape material through improvisation. However, as performance day neared, I felt the necessity to step into a more directive role to ensure clarity and cohesion within the structured score. Butterworth’s notion of flexibility in leadership (p. 383) gave me confidence to make this shift, knowing that responsiveness to the context is as much a part of leadership as the actions themselves. This adaptability allowed me to maintain the collaborative spirit of the project while asserting the structure needed for a successful performance.
Connections to Situational Leadership
The principles of situational leadership, as articulated by Hersey and Blanchard (1988), further reinforced the importance of this adaptability. Their model emphasizes that effective leaders adjust their approach based on the demands of the task and the readiness of their team, balancing the amount of direction (task behavior) and socio-emotional support (relational behavior) they provide (p. 169-170). Reflecting on this, I recognized how my leadership evolved throughout the Zandwacht project. In the initial stages, when the dancers were exploring material and finding their footing, I provided a balance of guidance and support, creating a safe space for experimentation. As the project progressed and the dancers grew more confident and the performance requirements became clearer, I shifted to a more directive approach, ensuring alignment with the site-specific context and the overarching vision. This process of adjusting my leadership style—from fostering exploration to providing clarity and structure—mirrored the group’s readiness and the evolving demands of the project. Situational leadership thus offered a framework to reflect on these shifts, validating the instinctive adjustments I made to ensure both collaboration and cohesion within the creative process.
Personal Insights and Reflections
Through the application of Butterworth’s model and the principles of situational leadership, I gained a deeper understanding of my role as a choreographic leader. The Zandwacht project required me to constantly evaluate and adjust my approach, finding a balance between allowing creative freedom and providing the structured guidance necessary to bring the work to fruition. It was a dynamic process where my leadership had to adapt in real time to the needs of the dancers, the site, and the choreography itself.
What stood out to me most was the realization that leadership is not a one-size-fits-all approach. I learned to trust my instincts, especially in moments of uncertainty. There were times when I felt a strong pull to step back and allow the group to explore on their own, and other times when I had to assert more control to keep the project on track. In these moments, I became more aware of how my role shifts based on the group's energy and needs, and how subtle interventions can either foster or stifle creativity.
Through this process, I feel like I’ve made a shift from being unconsciously competent to consciously competent in my leadership. I’m now better equipped to recognize when the group’s focus is starting to drift or when there’s a lack of clarity in direction. I understand that, as a leader, I need to step in at those moments, even if it feels uncomfortable, to ensure the process stays on course. This has been particularly valuable when working with diverse groups, where different personalities and working styles can sometimes create tension or confusion.
This experience has deepened my understanding of the nuanced relationship between direction and collaboration. While it’s important to provide structure, I’ve learned that a good leader doesn’t always have to have all the answers upfront. Sometimes, it's about knowing when to trust the group to find their own way and when to step forward and take charge. In the future, I will be more aware of these shifts and will recognize the moments when I need to take the lead to clear up "noise" and bring focus back to the core of the work.
