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Abstract

In dance, there are three components that stir our imagination: the movement of our body or the movement of others (kinesthetic imagery), the music that accompanies the movement (auditory imagery), and the emotions that arise from the physical sensation in our body while we dance (interoceptive imagery). All three types of imagery tap into different yet interrelated neural systems that are engaged both during dancing, as much as during the imagination of a dance. In this chapter, we will describe each of these imagery types in relation to dance. We also show evidence about how the combination of kinesthetic, auditory, and interoceptive imagery helps both amateur and professional dancers to rehearse their dance movements and find inspiration for new moves without actually moving their body at all.