building theiInner structure of the dancing body

Masterarbeit Masterstudium Tanzpädagogik RA 066 747

ABSTRACT: As a dancer and choreographer, dancing experiences for me were mostly confined to the area of a dance studio, where we (dancers and choreographers) create our own unique culture of interactions and physical and verbal communications. In their practice, dancers are used to finding systems of signs and terminology to aid their actions, which might be to explain a movement phrase, a transition in space, or to remember an old choreography. Due to its complexity, the dancing experience has no fixed single way to be (intellectually) put into words, interacted with, or communicated to a surrounding community, let alone other fields of study. Furthermore, observing a dance is mostly considered through the lens of movement reflection, which is, in at least one perceptive manner, reminiscent of political attitude or emotional statements or thoughts, and addressed by a folded physical experience in the state of performance. It could be suggested that a description of the dancing activity requires more than a specification of the cause: it might also require a description of the content held by every particular movement, as well as what is moved, felt, and thought throughout. In other words, the when, where, and why. This is apparent in all experiences of modern dance practice and is also what distinguishes one experience from another. This thesis presents a theoretical study of task-based movement practice as a dance improvisation technique that encourages contemporary dancers and choreographers to inform and be informed by other research fields such as cognitive science, architecture, and fine arts. In the scope of this study, two key lines of questioning are approached: How do moving bodies become a source of information when systemic structure for movement production in dance is applied? How can a dancer's complex process of learning a sequence of movements or choreography contribute to the larger field of research and education with reference to dance? By referring to analytical choreographic and systemic dance studies, specifically integrating those developed from technical writing methods in dance, this thesis will propose a series of movement exercises that were developed within two movement laboratories. These were initiated to examine the practice of choreographic mapping as a tool to enhance the expressive values of human body movement, resulting in a characteristic body expression within a specific context. The choreographic map as a method, meant for approaching contemporary dance practice in movement improvisation within pedagogical and artistic contexts. In addition, it aims to develop dynamic exercises, which may help the dance practitioner to install spatial information, geometrical structures, and qualitative movement components into the body-instrument as part of basic embodied knowledge through imagination. In other words, it is an artistic practice comprising structured improvisation as an educational laboratory of system theories. Within said artistic practice, it becomes possible to play with spatial geometries, generating dynamics, forms, and structures through a process of group engagement. This can then be used to create interfaces between dance studies and visual arts, space design, architecture, performance design, and interactive technology to enrich the physical practice.

78 Seiten