Interdisciplinary Conceptualizations of Flow in Performance Studies

Flow is typically described as a psychological state where one becomes enmeshed with the performance of a task (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). While Csikszentmihalyi’s work was centred in positive psychology, studies of flow have crossed into sport psychology, dance studies, sociocultural kinesiology, sociology, as well as theatre and performance studies. As an athlete, dancer, and actor, my interest in flow focuses on the articulation of the experience. Hence, in this study, I interviewed ten professionals across various performance disciplines to investigate the similarities and differences of how they conceptualized flow. In my analysis, I engaged in reflective interpretation with the data such that I was able to understand participants’ discussion of flow through my lived performance experiences to identify three overarching themes: articulations of flow experiences, flow as context-dependent, and flow as emerging ‘in-the-moment’. My findings highlight moments of divergence and convergence across their flow experiences.