How Creative People Learn Differently: Insights from Dancers and Beyond

Rachel Murphy 30/04/2025

I’ve been dancing most of my life, and running businesses almost as long. Over the years, I’ve come to realise something that no one really taught me outright: creative people, especially dancers, often learn in ways that just don’t fit traditional systems. Not worse ways. Not broken ways. Just different.

It took me a while to find research that backed up what I had always felt in my body and in my work. But once I did, it was like a thousand puzzle pieces clicked into place. This ignited my return to education and sparked a passion within me.

So if you’re a creative learner, or if you’re trying to support one, here’s what I’ve discovered, grounded in real studies, not just gut feeling.

We Learn Through Our Bodies

For dancers, this is obvious. Our bodies are how we make sense of the world. We don’t just sit and absorb information; we move with it, respond to it, feel it. And this isn’t just poetic talk—science backs it up.

The field of embodied cognition suggests that thinking and physical experience are deeply linked. Researchers like Susan Goldin-Meadow have shown how hand gestures actually shape our thoughts and help us learn more effectively. It’s not a coincidence that dancers often remember choreography better than lines from a book. We’re wired to move through meaning.

We Think in Images, Shapes, and Space

When I’m planning something, whether it’s a routine or a new workshop, I see it before I write it. Creative people often rely on visual-spatial reasoning to process information. And studies using brain imaging back this up: creative individuals light up areas of the brain responsible for spatial awareness and imagery, particularly the parietal cortex.

If you’ve ever felt more comfortable mapping something out on a whiteboard or sketching your ideas before writing about them, you’re not alone. That’s not a quirk, it’s a creative strength.

We Learn Best by Doing (and Failing and Tweaking)

I don’t learn well by being told how to do something. I have to try it myself, stumble, and try again. That’s what dance rehearsal is all about. Turns out, this is also what experiential learning theory says about how many of us learn best, especially creatives.

According to David Kolb, learning happens in a cycle: do something, reflect on it, think it through, try again. That mirrors how dancers, makers, and entrepreneurs learn: through iteration. We build by experimenting, not by memorising.

Emotion Is Part of the Process

For me, learning doesn’t stick unless I care. I need to feel something. That’s not a weakness, it’s a neurologically supported truth.

Antonio Damasio’s research on emotion and decision-making shows that emotional engagement helps encode memory and drives meaningful learning. If a dancer doesn’t connect emotionally with the choreography, the audience probably won’t either. The same goes for learning; connection drives comprehension.

We’re Okay With Not Having All the Answers

Some people freeze when they don’t know what’s coming next. But in dance, and in creative work, uncertainty is part of the flow. Creative people tend to be more comfortable with ambiguity and open-ended questions, something supported by psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, who links creativity with a trait called openness to experience.

This means we don’t need everything spelled out; we thrive when we’re given space to explore, test, and discover. It's why rigid curricula often feel suffocating for creatives.

Reflection Isn’t Optional—It’s How We Grow

In both dance and business, I’ve learned the power of looking back to move forward. Donald Schön calls this being a “reflective practitioner.” Dancers do this instinctively, during rehearsals, after performances, in front of the mirror, in feedback loops.

We reflect-in-action (tweaking as we go) and reflect-on-action (learning from experience after the fact). It’s how creative professionals refine their practice and develop mastery. Reflection isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s the foundation of creative learning.

So What Can We Do With This Knowledge?

If we know creative people learn differently, through movement, imagery, experimentation, emotion, and reflection, why are so many learning environments built around sitting still, listening passively, and being told what’s “right”?

Whether you're designing a course, running a rehearsal, or mentoring a creative entrepreneur, consider this:

• Let them move—learning isn’t limited to a chair.

• Give them visual tools—like maps, sketches, or prototypes.

• Allow for trial and error—failure is how they learn fastest.

• Tap into their emotions—purpose makes everything more meaningful.

• Give them freedom—not everything needs a fixed outcome.

• Build in time for reflection—it’s where the magic happens.

  
  

This isn’t just for dancers. It’s for anyone who thinks differently, moves differently, or learns best when the rules are loosened just enough to make room for creativity.

References (for the curious minds)

• Damasio, A. (1994). Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain

• Feist, G. (1998). A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Review

• Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

• Goldin-Meadow, S. (2005). Hearing Gesture: How Our Hands Help Us Think

• Hetland, L., Winner, E., et al. (2007). Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education

• Kaufman, S. B. (2013). Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined

• Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development

• Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1999). Philosophy in the Flesh

• Schön, D. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner

• Winner, E. (2001). Gifted Children: Myths and Realities

• Zhuang, K., et al. (2020). Creativity and brain structure: A meta-analysis. NeuroImage