Abstract

Renowned anthropologist Victor Turner spoke of “power fields” in ritualistic performance that are dynamic in nature. These power fields provide for a juxtaposition of oppositional forces that, according to Turner, create an experience that is more meaningful than the sum of its parts. In arts experiences, the interdependence of people and groups creates an imbalance that relies on the structure and form of the experience to contain and organize. This imbalance ensures movement and dynamism of the ritual form, as participants impose their own agendas on the form through their improvisational creations. This article reviews two group workshops wherein participants share in experiences that are derived from cultural rituals, and respond to them in improvisational ways. This experience allows participants to interact with the ritual, bringing their own ideas, identity, and power to the experience. These two settings provide an interdisciplinary lens through which to examine the improvisational contributions of participants. How is personal power provided for in such experiences? How do we conduct meaningful research that employs this collaborative and participatory model? The fields of education, drama, music, visual arts, and cultural studies are employed as lens through which to examine these questions.