Oh No... Is This Interpretive Dance?
Oh No... Is This Interpretive Dance?
Hopefully not... For everyone's sake...
Hopefully not... For everyone's sake...
Poetry isn’t just written. It lives, moves, disrupts.
This challenge asks you to create a poem with a non-written-word performance element. A poem that exists beyond the page. A poem that, in some way, demands to be experienced.
This could mean:
Physical movement (yes, even interpretive dance).
Props, objects, or visual elements.
Absurdist performance (think Andy Kaufman eating a sandwich for three minutes).
Sound or music (but not just spoken word).
The goal? Make the audience feel something beyond the words themselves.
You must have a performance element. Art, movement, props, audience interaction—anything that expands the poem beyond words on a page.
You can work alone or in a group (up to 3 people). Collaboration might make performance ideas stronger.
Avoid clichés. If your performance is just a recitation, push it further. What makes it unique?
Consider intentional awkwardness, absurdity, or humor. Sometimes the weirdest performances hit the hardest.
What part of your poem could be expressed without words?
How can you make the audience feel something unexpected?
Is your performance serious, absurd, experimental, or interactive?
How much of the meaning changes when the poem is embodied?
Andy Kaufman’s Absurdist Comedy – Performance as confusion, as disruption.
Marina Abramović’s Performance Art – Using the body as poetry.
Spoken Word Poetry with Movement (Slam Poetry, But Stranger) – Poets who engage their audience physically.