Research & Development
Where movement becomes artistic enquiry.
We begin with a question.
Not choreography.
Not performance.
Not answers.
Creative Research is the space within Lean_in where curiosity leads the process, collaboration shapes the work and movement becomes a way of thinking, feeling and understanding.
Rather than creating performances to illustrate ideas, we investigate ideas through performance. We create the conditions for meaningful work to emerge—trusting that if we remain present with the process, the work will reveal itself in its own time.
The Research Process
We don’t begin by deciding what a performance should look like. Instead, we create the conditions for ideas to emerge through curiosity, collaboration and embodied enquiry. Each stage of the process builds on the last, allowing movement, conversation and lived experience to shape the work organically.
Every project begins with a question rather than an answer.
Areas of Enquiry
While each project begins with its own unique question, several themes continue to emerge throughout our creative practice. These areas of enquiry provide starting points rather than destinations, inviting ongoing investigation through movement, collaboration and performance.
🌿 Humanity & Relationship
How do we relate to ourselves, one another and the environments we inhabit? Much of our work explores connection, belonging, attachment and the complexity of being human.
🌊 Memory &
Storytelling
Movement becomes a way of remembering. We investigate how memory, personal history and collective narratives can be embodied rather than simply told.
🎭 Contemporary Dance Theatre
Blending contemporary dance, improvisation, physical theatre, text and visual imagery, we explore how performance can communicate emotionally without relying on linear narrative.
🌍 Nature, Place & Landscape
The environments we inhabit shape the way we move and create. From English folklore and coastal landscapes to forests, studios and gathering spaces, place becomes an active collaborator within the creative process.
🤝 Collaboration
Every project is developed through collaboration between dancers, musicians, designers, filmmakers and other artists. We value multiple perspectives, allowing the work to evolve through dialogue rather than authorship alone.
✨ Performance as Enquiry
Rather than presenting conclusions, we create performances that invite audiences into a shared space of reflection, curiosity and interpretation.
👣 Movement Artists
Contemporary dancers, improvisers, choreographers and embodied practitioners who contribute to the physical language of each project.
🎵 Musicians & Sound
Live musicians, composers and sound artists who develop the sonic world alongside the movement rather than simply accompanying it.
🎨 Visual & Creative Arts
Designers, photographers, filmmakers and visual artists who help shape the atmosphere, imagery and aesthetic identity of the work.
🤝 Future Collaborators
Creative Research is an evolving practice, and we welcome future collaborations with artists from a wide range of disciplines who share a curiosity for process-led, interdisciplinary creation.
Collaborators
Creative Research is built through collaboration. Each project brings together artists from different disciplines, allowing movement to meet music, theatre, film, design and visual storytelling. Rather than working within fixed roles, we value open dialogue and shared authorship, trusting that the richest ideas emerge through collaboration.