Concordia PhD candidate wins a Prix Relève étoile for research on participatory dance composition

Expressing yourself through movement can be an exhilarating—even transformative—experience. But in the world of professional dance training, the focus tends to be technique and execution, as opposed to the process of composing a dance.

In her award-winning research, PhD candidate Allison Peacock created a workshop inviting participants to explore dance as a collaborative, dynamic practice—not just an art form, but a shared experience. She explores how physical training, instant composition, and site-specific creation invite participants to step beyond conventional contemporary dance training .

Peacock is pursuing a PhD in Humanities under the supervision of MJ Thompson in the Department of Art Education.

Her recent paper, “Intuitive Fitness,” has been honoured with September’s Prix Relève étoile Paul-Gérin-Lajoie from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).

The monthly prize promotes and recognizes exceptional research by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the province.

Peacock’s paper highlights three previous instances of the workshop. The first was as part of LePARC, the Performing Arts Research Cluster within Concordia University’s Milieux Institute, during its year-end event Embodied Interventions at the Black Box Theatre. The second took place at the National Dance Centre Bucharest (CNDB) and in Bucharest’s Parcul Carol, a historic park known for its monumental sculptures. The third was part of the IMMER Collective’s Growing the Past event at Toronto’s Spadina Historic Garden.

The workshops focused on using dance as a creative, collaborative process, helping participants develop both their movement skills and their ability to create performances. Rather than just physical training, they encourage people to experiment with choreography, engage with different environments, and support each other’s creative expression in a group setting.

Her PhD dissertation blends artistic practice with academic research by using site-specific dance performances to explore how people are influenced by environments while simultaneously being part of the environments around them. Her choreographies offer a unique way to critically engage with the world through movement.

“Participation and physical experience are key to my understanding of dance,” says Peacock. “It’s not only about the production of a work for the stage or asserting a singular movement technique.”

Read the cited paper: “Intuitive Fitness.”

Find out more about Concordia’s School of Graduate Studies.