1 CREATIVE MOVEMENT, CREATIVE THOUGHT. THE DANCING PHILOSOPHER. 1 Diana Marià Acevedo Zapata [27. November 2015 – Philosophy On Stage #4 – Tanzquartier Wien Studios] Diana María Acevedo Zapata dmacevedoz@pedagogica.edu.co Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Bogota, Colombia Abstract When Zarathustra comes back to human world, he finds an old man that recognizes him. One of the first things the old man perceives is that Zarathustra is transformed, and at the same time looks like he “strides like a dancer” (TSZ 2). The kind of transformation Zarathustra experienced can be seen in his movements; it is related to the way he walks, the balance on his legs, the way the arms go with the rest of the body. In this context I want to make two points in the Zarathustra: first, philosophy is a kind of practice that leads to a transformation of the philosopher; and second, that philosophy's power of transformation is related to a creative relation among weight, body and ground. The Zarathustra presents these points through images that, as I gather, need to be performed in order to be understood, instead of being understood only through argumentative explanation. The image of the dancer philosopher suggests that we need to move ourselves if we want to practice philosophy. It invites us to think in movement, to perform and understand thinking through movement. Keywords: dance, improvisation, artist-philosopher, Zarathustra. 1 This material is a result of the project “Escritura, filosofía y vida” funded by Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Colombia. Dance sessions with Natalia Orozco and Marie Bardet were a fundamental part of the creative process, and the sharp comments of Ángela Uribe, María Lucía Rivera, Leonardo González and Juan David Fuentes help to improve significantly the text.