Dance Theater as Philosophical Practice: Embodied Research Between the Meridian and the Anatomical Body

This research employs a practice-led study grounded in Practice-as-Research and comparative analysis of meridian-based and anatomical body systems to explore how different body systems and Daoist philosophies shape dance theatre creation.

The comparative analysis section of this study focuses on elucidating how the meridian system, rooted in the body cognition system of Chinese classical dance scholars, profoundly influences the Chinese classical dance styles of the Shenyun genre, specifically their postural forms, movement routes, and overall movement logic. In contrast, my understanding of the dancing body is primarily built upon skeletal structure, joint function, and muscular kinetic chains.

By situating movement logic as an embodied expression of underlying philosophical frameworks, this research examines how differing conceptions of the body give rise to distinct modes of movement and choreographic thinking. As Conroy and Bresnahan (2025) state, “the potential for dance philosophy is enormous, in part because dance itself is multifaceted enough to make it connect with many branches of philosophy” (Conroy & Bresnahan, 2025). This research proposes that Taoist philosophy and posthumanism are enacted through dance.

In the applied project, The Gateway, I synthesize Daoist philosophy and posthumanist perspectives through embodied practice, combining contemporary dance with the movement language of Chinese classical dance Shenyun. By integrating installation, projection, lighting, and costume, the work reconfigures dance theatre as an experimental site for reconsidering human subjectivity, ecological interdependence, and creative agency.

Grounded in the body as a central epistemic medium, the interdisciplinary stage structure transforms theatre into a space of embodied philosophical inquiry, where relationships between human, technological, and natural systems are explored through performance.