Abstract
The present study was undertaken to investigate the development of imagery among dancers. To effectively extend the results presented in Part I, the main topics emerging from the interviews in that study were investigated quantitatively. Participants were 250 female (n = 218) and male (n = 27) dancers from various dance types and ranging from recreational to professional in standard. Dancers perceived their images to have improved both in quantity and quality across their years in dance, with qualitative changes including improved complexity, control, structure, deliberation, and sensory involvement. Several differences existed between experience levels. In particular, higher-level dancers reported having been encouraged to image more frequently and being given more metaphorical images in classes more often than lower-level dancers, both when they first started dancing and at present. Altogether, the study might have implications for dance teachers as well as for dancers and researchers.
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