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Out of ideas? Five dancemakers on coping with being stuck.

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We tend to think of choreographers as particularly creative people. That may be true, but it does not mean that the ideas and movement flow every minute of the day. Just as writers have writer's block, dancemakers sometimes get choreographer's block. Here five choreographers talk openly about those scary moments in the studio when you get stuck and can't immediately find your way out.

Emily Molnar

Dancer/choreographer, Vancouver

Interviewed by Cynthia Hedstrom

When I get stuck, I try to disrupt the space, to find a different way of looking. I'll change the music; I'll put Billie Holiday on for choreography made to romantic music. I'll ask the dancers to improvise, to turn a different way. I'll ask myself what is going on, even put the problem down on paper, and walk away. I'll remove myself from the situation and trust that some time away will give me a solution.

It's like anything in life: Right when you want something to work, sometimes it doesn't. It's knowing the block is there for a reason. You want to let information come to the surface--to remain open and be surprised by things.

Upcoming project: A duet for firstthings-first productions (Kate Holden and Kate Franklin) in Toronto next fall and commissions for the Alberta Ballet and Augsburg Ballet in 2010. This spring I'm also touring a duet that Kevin O'Day choreographed for me and...

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