This paper investigates certain philosophical implications of asking a dance artist for an account of how she or he works. The research proposes the development of practices of collaborative writing by a dance artist and researcher-observer (alert to the motivated and implicated positions of each) that are capable of articulating what matters to dance practitioners. Noting that many issues specific to the production and reception of practitioner-focused writing have a bearing on dance education and on institutional practice-as-research frameworks, it is argued that dance academics should be more concerned with the questions an artist might ask before writing. (Contains 5 figures and 3 notes.)