Liberating the Performer who Dances with the Pole: A Creative and Reflective Approach

This paper presents a reflective and practice-led framework for solo performers engaging with autobiographical objects in physical performance, using the pole as a primary example. Drawing from ten years of professional practice and doctoral research, I introduce a five-part model developed through recursive creative processes and informed by autoethnographic inquiry. Rather than focusing on the pole’s cultural associations with eroticism or gendered gaze, this study emphasises its choreographic potential as an object of autobiographical resonance. The model provides a structured, adaptable approach for performers seeking to explore personal narrative, agency, and creative authorship through embodied solo work. It contributes to a growing field of research where object use in performance traverses subjectivity, methodology, and self-representation.