Matching Items (3)
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- All Subjects: Dance
- Genre: Academic theses
- Status: Published
Description
In contemporary U.S. culture, dance is often confined to the young and the trained, isolated on stages and in dance studios, and viewed as entertainment that is disconnected from "real life." Socially engaged dance practices re-connect dance to society in meaningful ways. By connecting individuals to their own bodies, to each other, to ideas, and to social, civic, and educational institutions, socially engaged dance practices use movement, the body, and the tools of participatory art, which contributes to the development of a democratic society, while catalyzing social change, and building healthy communities.
ContributorsJohnson, Elizabeth (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Marshall, Alison (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Every body holds a story. Those stories are rich with physical movements to be expressed, and through the physical expression comes self-awareness and transformation. A partnership between Arizona State University and Arcadia High School was the vehicle in which I implemented a curriculum built around somatic experiences and communal beliefs and values. The framework for this investigated curriculum teaches students' embodiment of self, tolerance and acceptance in collaboration, life skills through applied constructivist principles, and increased critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. This research involved somatic exercises enabling participants to have insight into natural moving patterns, how such patterns relate to others and outside environments. Research concluded with collective dialogue around individual and shared experiences. I worked twice per week with a choreography class with a four unit curriculum. From varying modes of assessment (e.g., one-on-one interviews, group discussions, journals, surveys, ongoing observations) students' responses to this type of curriculum ranged from excitement and curiosity to frustrating and provoking. Although these areas of research are not necessarily new to the field of dance and education, gaps in dialogue, published work, and reliable resources prove these theories and methods are still valued and necessary. This research demonstrates the imperative demand in dance education for deeper connections of self-discovery.
ContributorsYourse, Katie R (Author) / Dyer, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Vissicaro, Pegge (Committee member) / Johnson, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
This project explores the cultivation of artistic methodologies centered in embodied movement practices. I worked in collaboration with dancers to inform the development of a movement vocabulary that is authentic to the individual as well as to the content of the work. Through the interplay between movement and subconscious response to elements such as writing, imagery, and physical environments I created authentic kinesthetic experiences for both dancer and audience. I submerged dancers into a constructed environment by creating authentic mental and physical experiences that supported the development of embodied movement. This was the impetus to develop the evening length work, Flesh Narratives, which consisted of five vignettes, each containing its own distinctive creative process driven by the content of each section. This project was presented January 29- 31, 2016 in the Fine Arts Center room 122, an informal theatre space, that supplemented an immersive experience in an intimate environment for forty viewers. This project explored themes of transformation including cycles, concepts of life, death and reincarnation, and enlightenment. Through the art of storytelling, the crafting of embodied movers, and the theory of Hauntology, the viewer was taken on a journey of struggle, loss, and rebirth.
ContributorsGerena, Jenny (Author) / Standley, Eileen (Thesis advisor) / Rosenkrans, Angela (Committee member) / Britt, Melissa (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016