Beyond Utterances: Embodied Creativity and Compliance in Dance and Dementia

Practices of creativity and compliance intersect in interaction when directing local dances remotely for people living with dementia their carers institutional settings. This ethnomethodological study focused on how artistic mechanisms are understood structured by participants response to on-screen instruction. Video data were collected from two long-term care facilities Canada Finland a pilot dance program that extended internationally at the onset COVID-19. Fourteen hours video analyzed using multimodal conversation analysis initiation–response sequences. In this paper, we identify creative instructed actions produced directives mediated technology facilitated copresent facilitators. We provide examples participants’ variably compliant responses relation instruction, following lead coordinating others, produce different embellishing improvising. Our findings suggest cocreativity may be realized intersections toward reciprocity. research contributes interdisciplinary discussions about potential arts-based practices social inclusion, health, well-being studying instruction is copresence embodied action interaction.