What is it? The 'it'-ness of ensemble

In this paper I address two key questions: what languages and metaphors have been used to evoke or describe the particular quality of experience to be found in ensemble theatre performance and how does an understanding of the essential nature of ensemble help understand what, precisely, is being trained when one is training in an ensemble context? The paper combines an overview of some descriptions of ensemble work with my own practice of a trainer of physical ensembles to move towards an understanding of the quintessence of ensemble