Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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- All Subjects: Dance
Description
Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the dance industry has exponentially grown in its population and representation. As dance studios, companies, media platforms and films, dance industry continue to expand, there has been a substantial increase in the number of dancers around the world. Dancers are becoming more diverse with the styles they perform and how they perform a piece. One major factor to the growth of the dance industry is the ever-growing field of digital media and social platforms. These platforms expose people to different dance styles while also allowing dancers to showcase their art. Additionally, dance television shows and films contributed to this growth in the dance industry by developing a reputation and awareness of what dance is to the public. This project will analyze how certain aspects of the media influenced the modern dance industry, and whether this created a positive or negative impact.
ContributorsGodbehere, Amber (Author) / Schmidtke, Lisa (Thesis director) / Caldwell, Christina (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The goal of this thesis is to explore and present a range of approaches to “algorithmic choreography.” In the context of this thesis, algorithmic choreography is defined as choreography with computational influence or elements. Traditionally, algorithmic choreography, despite containing works that use computation in a variety of ways, has been used as an umbrella term for all works that involve computation.
This thesis intends to show that the diversity of algorithmic choreography can be reduced into more specific categories. As algorithmic choreography is fundamentally intertwined with the concept of computation, it is natural to propose that algorithmic choreography works be separated based on a spectrum that is defined by the extent of the involvement of computation within each piece.
This thesis seeks to specifically outline three primary categories that algorithmic works can fall into: pieces that involve minimal computational influence, entirely computationally generated pieces, and pieces that lie in between. Three original works were created to reflect each of these categories. These works provide examples of the various methods by which computation can influence and enhance choreography.
The first piece, entitled Rαinwater, displays a minimal amount of computational influence. The use of space in the piece was limited to random, computationally generated paths. The dancers extracted a narrative element from the random paths. This iteration resulted in a piece that explores the dancers’ emotional interaction within the context of a rainy environment. The second piece, entitled Mymec, utilizes an intermediary amount of computation. The piece sees a dancer interact with a projected display of an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm. The dancer is to take direct inspiration from the movement of the virtual ants and embody the visualization of the algorithm. The final piece, entitled nSkeleton, exhibited maximal computational influence. Kinect position data was manipulated using iterative methods from computational mathematics to create computer-generated movement to be performed by a dancer on-stage.
Each original piece was originally intended to be presented to the public as part of an evening-length show. However, due to the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, all public campus events have been canceled and the government has recommended that gatherings with more than 10 people be entirely avoided. Thus, the pieces will instead be presented in the form of a video published online. This video will encompass information about the creation of each piece as well as clips of choreography.
This thesis intends to show that the diversity of algorithmic choreography can be reduced into more specific categories. As algorithmic choreography is fundamentally intertwined with the concept of computation, it is natural to propose that algorithmic choreography works be separated based on a spectrum that is defined by the extent of the involvement of computation within each piece.
This thesis seeks to specifically outline three primary categories that algorithmic works can fall into: pieces that involve minimal computational influence, entirely computationally generated pieces, and pieces that lie in between. Three original works were created to reflect each of these categories. These works provide examples of the various methods by which computation can influence and enhance choreography.
The first piece, entitled Rαinwater, displays a minimal amount of computational influence. The use of space in the piece was limited to random, computationally generated paths. The dancers extracted a narrative element from the random paths. This iteration resulted in a piece that explores the dancers’ emotional interaction within the context of a rainy environment. The second piece, entitled Mymec, utilizes an intermediary amount of computation. The piece sees a dancer interact with a projected display of an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm. The dancer is to take direct inspiration from the movement of the virtual ants and embody the visualization of the algorithm. The final piece, entitled nSkeleton, exhibited maximal computational influence. Kinect position data was manipulated using iterative methods from computational mathematics to create computer-generated movement to be performed by a dancer on-stage.
Each original piece was originally intended to be presented to the public as part of an evening-length show. However, due to the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, all public campus events have been canceled and the government has recommended that gatherings with more than 10 people be entirely avoided. Thus, the pieces will instead be presented in the form of a video published online. This video will encompass information about the creation of each piece as well as clips of choreography.
ContributorsJawaid, Zeeshan (Co-author, Co-author) / Jackson, Naomi (Thesis director) / Curry, Nicole (Committee member) / Espanol, Malena (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Persian music is immensely rich in history, culture, and expression. There has always been a very unique style and feel to it with common themes and elements present in all songs created by Persian artists. It has specific unique elements in its composition, quite different from Western classical music, common across all forms of Persian music regardless of genre or generation: highly vocal melodies, greater use of ornamentation, and particular notation. While different, these elements are not incompatible with one another. This musical composition uses a string ensemble of Violin, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass to combine and incorporate the unique styles and elements of Persian music with those of Western classical music. This Persian-inspired waltz brings out aspects of both styles to convey both styles in harmony together and, at the same time, portrays each respective style within the setting and context of the other.
ContributorsSadeghi, Amir Jahan (Author) / Caslor, Jason (Thesis director) / Desbordes, Julie (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
While growing up, I was placed into dance classes, dance started out as a hobby, but as I grew up it became a way for me to escape from the struggles life itself brings. While I was taking a dance culture class at Arizona State University, I stumbled across research that revealed that dance does not just help people like myself, but it also has the ability to help those with more difficult life-altering situations like Parkinson’s Disease. With having about 970 million adults aged 65 years old and up (United Nations), around 10-million of these individuals have Parkinson’s Disease (PD) (Parkinson’s New Today). With these large numbers, Parkinson’s is the second leading neurodegenerative disease worldwide (Parkinson’s News Today) behind Alzheimer’s. Parkinson’s is a motor system disorder that affects the production of dopamine in one’s brain (Harvard). With the current treatment of PD being medication as well as surgical therapy based on the severity of each patient (Parkinson’s Foundation), there is one form of treatment that has been tested but not certified, partnership dancing. The way that partnership dance benefits those with Parkinson’s Disease is by using many areas of the brain to facilitate dopamine production. The four main areas used are the motor cortex, the somatosensory, the basal ganglia, and lastly the cerebellum (Harvard). With the vast amount of existing research, as well as the information gained through secondary research, I feel as though there needs to be a study to open the development of partnership dance as a therapy modality for those with many of the forms of degenerative mental diseases. Although unable to put on this research, I have outlined what this study could look like to be continued in the hopes of having partnership dance become a certified form of therapy for those with Parkinson’s Disease.
ContributorsMillar, Cayla Briann (Author) / Caves, Larry (Thesis director) / Kaplan, Robert (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Motion: Performing Arts and Creative Training, also known as MPACT, will provide dance training to all levels and ages in the St. Louis, Missouri area. Our highly trained and knowledgeable dance educators will provide instruction that will inspire and foster creativity in a highly educational class setting that will prepare each student for a lifelong love for dance. Students will have the opportunity to perform in multiple settings and engage in class instruction from guest artists as well as MPACT’s educators.
ContributorsHills, Mira Marie (Co-author) / Hills, Mira (Co-author) / Schupp, Karen (Thesis director) / Roses-Thema, Cynthia (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Personal experiences with body image dysmorphia and an eating disorder necessitated that I do a thorough investigation into why they happened and why I felt this way about my body. For this project, not only was I motivated by my own struggles, but I noticed that these experiences were shared among my family, my friends, and my fellow peers in the dance community. We had been struggling since childhood. I began to realize that these behaviors and thought patterns were manifestations of apology, an apology that women have been learning, living, and spreading since our beginnings. Why do women apologize? How does this apology affect how we view, treat, and navigate our bodies in space? In what ways can dance be the mechanism by which we remove apology and individually and collectively find joy, freedom, and liberation? Not only was I interested in understanding the ‘why’, but I was deeply interested in finding a solution. Research for this thesis came from written materials, stories that the dancers and I shared, and choreographic research in the body. The final goal was to create a community-based performance of dance, spoken word, and storytelling that demonstrated the findings from each of those questions and catalyzed a conversation about how we can liberate ourselves. We used rehearsals to explore our own experiences within apology and shame, while also exploring how the ways in which we practice being unapologetic in the dance space can translate to how we move through the world on a daily basis.
Through a deep analysis and application of Sonya Renee Taylor’s book The Body Is Not An Apology, I discovered that apology is learned. We learn how to apologize through body shame, the media, family/generational trauma, and government/law/policy. This apology is embodied through gestures, movement patterns, and postures, such as bowing the head, hunching the shoulders, and walking around others. Apology causes us to view our bodies as things to be manipulated, discarded, and embarrassed by. After recognizing why we apologize and how it affects our bodies, we can then begin to think of how to remove it. Because the body the site of the problem, it is also the site of the solution. Dance gives us an opportunity to deeply learn our bodies, to cultivate their power, and to heal from their traumas. By being together in community as women, we are able to feel seen and supported as we work through uncharted territory of being free from apology in these bodies. By dancing in ways that allow us to take up space, to be free, to be unapologetic, we use dance as a practice for life. Through transforming ourselves, we begin to transform the world and rewrite the narrative of how we exist in and move through our bodies as women.
Through a deep analysis and application of Sonya Renee Taylor’s book The Body Is Not An Apology, I discovered that apology is learned. We learn how to apologize through body shame, the media, family/generational trauma, and government/law/policy. This apology is embodied through gestures, movement patterns, and postures, such as bowing the head, hunching the shoulders, and walking around others. Apology causes us to view our bodies as things to be manipulated, discarded, and embarrassed by. After recognizing why we apologize and how it affects our bodies, we can then begin to think of how to remove it. Because the body the site of the problem, it is also the site of the solution. Dance gives us an opportunity to deeply learn our bodies, to cultivate their power, and to heal from their traumas. By being together in community as women, we are able to feel seen and supported as we work through uncharted territory of being free from apology in these bodies. By dancing in ways that allow us to take up space, to be free, to be unapologetic, we use dance as a practice for life. Through transforming ourselves, we begin to transform the world and rewrite the narrative of how we exist in and move through our bodies as women.
ContributorsWaller, Marguerite Lilith (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis director) / Britt, Melissa (Committee member) / Lerman, Liz (Committee member) / Dean, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
As an artist, I set out to creatively answer three important questions that were discovered in a variety of ways over the course of my academic career. They all had one thing in common, the awareness and wonder around how impactful presence is. But what is presence? Merriam-Webster Dictionary defined presence as, “The state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing.” And, “A person or thing that exists or is present in a place but is not seen. (Presence) After a tangible experience with loss, grief, disappointment, and extenuating life circumstances for many cast members involved in this seven-month movement research project, the internal battle for physical, mental, and emotional presence began to be a daily pursuit. The originally produced work, Presence-The Walk, takes a look into the unpopular practice of being still in an ever-moving society, as well as what the process of healing can look like for an individual. Videographer and MFA candidate Lawrence Fung was a large collaborator on the final product of this work. After having to adapt several different versions of the final product due to cast changes, opportunities for public performance, and the COVID-19 pandemic, dancer, mover, and artist Victoria Ward shares her experience and research exploring the constant pursuit of presence and what it looked like to present professional work given an even shorter timeline. Interdisciplinary collaboration with photographers, artists, and spoken word was also a key aspect of this work alongside the research completed by her cast of seven dancers.
ContributorsWard, Victoria Marie (Author) / Conder, Carley (Thesis director) / Meredith, Shauna (Committee member) / Rosenkrans, Angela (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Should choreographing a dance routine be completely subjective or should it include some objective assessment? Dance is a performing art with the purpose of expressing an emotion or idea. In literature, dance is approached from solely the artistic side, using principles of art like movement, pattern, and rhythm. Art and science are often pinned against one another; art is considered subjective while science considered objective. Art tries to express knowledge while science aims to acquire knowledge. However, the two disciplines relate in their effort to understand the world. Although their intended audiences are contrasting, their goals are essentially the same. Considering this relation, my thesis will use both art and science to quantify elements of pom routines to create objective data to be used in the subjective choreography process. My project will look at the collegiate dance world and assess routines that have placed well at UDA College Dance Team National Championships. This research investigates how inclusion of certain elements adds value to the pom routines performed. I will then take what I have analyzed and gathered from extensive research on these successful routines and choreograph my own routine for my college dance team to compete in the 2020 UDA College Dance Team National Championship. With proper preparation and inclusion of the correct elements that were found in other winning routines, the Arizona State University Dance Team will place well and better than last year’s eighth place.
ContributorsHolland, Haylee Aliyah (Author) / Hudson, James G. (Thesis director) / Caryl, Bianca (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05