On the politics of movement: Borderscapes, choreopolicing and choreopolitics

Abstract A close but unrecognised affinity exists between border movements and dance. The paper introduces choreography as a tool of analysis for investigating how movement shapes and is shaped by the apparatus of territorial security. It builds on dance theorist André Lepecki's concepts of choreopolice and choreopolitics, developed through his reading of Jacques Rancière, and reinterprets them within the US–Mexico border context. Lepecki's thinking is advanced in scope and scale by braiding it with choreographic devices. Motif, canon and fragmentation further a micro−/embodied sensibility that illuminates how politically contentious movements are cultivated. The conclusion turns to Fragmentos , a dance work that explores opportunities to contest security imperatives and enact embodied transgression. Research derives from five years empirical fieldwork in El Paso, including border ethnography, policy reviews and performance analysis. The paper advances human geographical thought, first by introducing a novel choreographic theory of borders and their mobilities. Second, it speculates on how an alternative politics of movement might be animated. Amidst heightened border anxieties, both are necessary for deepening understanding into the relationship between bodies, movement and politics.