Abstract
This presentation explores the real-time dynamics of improvisation in Djembe dance through a neuro-phenomenological lens, focusing on how kinesthetic memory unfolds in response to rhythmic interaction. Bridging AR Luria's theory of kinetic melodies with Maxine Sheets-Johnstone's concept of kinesthetic memory, the research examines how dancers engage in embodied decision-making within structured yet fluid performance environments.
Improvisation here is understood not as the absence of structure, but as an emergent process rooted in the flexible recombination of embodied m