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- Creators: Arizona State University
- Creators: Dyer, Becky
Description
The purpose of this project was to foster non-inhibited movement exploration such as the movement of untrained dancers in a setting of a music festival (specifically in this case the Grateful Dead community), into the more ritual performance-based ideals and perspectives that tend to occur in a dance studio setting. The external visual perceptions of what an ideal dancer ‘should look like’ lends itself to unrealistic expectations and unattainable goals as an artist. Body image and the lack of individualized self-expression is a problem in studio settings and the goal of this research was to use the perspective of untrained and trained dancers to dig deep into movement qualities that are not contrived or performed from ritual or preconceived notions of movement that tend to occur in trained dancers. Through exploratory improvisational somatic experiences helping the dancer access a more embodied and authentic self, the choreography was shaped through delving into the dancers lived experiences. This study culminated in a performance dance project that was filmed at Arcosanti, an experimental Artist community in Northern Arizona that integrates the design of architecture with a respect to the ecology. The goal is to limit the environmental footprint that is left by the community.
ContributorsFox, Tiffany Suzanne (Author) / Dyer, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Kaplan, Rob (Committee member) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Re:Vive is a written reflection, exploring the creation of a series of dance films, 迷/ MI, 痕 / HEN, and 寻 /XUN. It presents a journey of digesting the discomforts and unfamiliarity caused by the pandemic in 2020. The ideas behind these works are centered on storytelling, embodied reflection, and the application and development of creative choreography tools. By using experimental video art, dance movement, media design, hybrid event production, and the mixing of elements, I, as a movement artist, am experimenting with embodied ways to creatively inquire about my discomfort and create a new whole in order to record and communicate these ideas.
ContributorsZHOU, ZIQIAN (Author) / Dyer, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Colman, Grisha (Thesis advisor) / Lerman, Liz (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Social insects collectively exploit food sources by recruiting nestmates, creating positive feedback that steers foraging effort to the best locations. The nature of this positive feedback varies among species, with implications for collective foraging. The mass recruitment trails of many ants are nonlinear, meaning that small increases in recruitment effort yield disproportionately large increases in recruitment success. The waggle dance of honeybees, in contrast, is believed to be linear, meaning that success increases proportionately to effort. However, the implications of this presumed linearityhave never been tested. One such implication is the prediction that linear recruiters will equally exploit two identical food sources, in contrast to nonlinear recruiters, who randomly choose only one of them. I tested this prediction in colonies of honeybees that were isolated in flight cages and presented with two identical sucrose feeders. The results from 15 trials were consistent with linearity, with many cases of equal exploitation of the feeders. In addition, I tested the prediction that linear recruiters can reallocate their forager distribution when unequal feeders are swapped in position. Results from 15 trials were consistent with linearity, with many cases of clear choice for a stronger food source, followed by a subsequent switch with reallocation of foragers to the new location of the stronger food source. These findings show evidence of a linear pattern of nestmate recruitment, with implications for how colonies effectively distribute their foragers across
available resources.
ContributorsAlam, Showmik (Author) / Shaffer, Zachary (Thesis advisor) / Pratt, Stephen C (Thesis advisor) / Ozturk, Cahit (Committee member) / Pavlic, Theodore (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Individual artists are capable of deeply impacting the communities in which they practice, leading to cultural development, exchange, and understanding. This impact is sometimes leveraged by nations as cultural diplomacy. Through the lens of cultural diplomacy, this document traces the development of Spanish dance in the Phoenix Valley from 1947 through the end of the 20th century by examining the careers of four international Spanish-dance artists who settled in Arizona; Adelino “Eddie” Fernandez, Lydia Torea, Laura Moya, and Dini Román. Each of these artists connected Arizona to a larger national and international dance community and their influence is felt to this day in the cultural diversity of the Phoenix Valley. The document concludes by describing the exhibit and performances that were built around this research and exploring how this research, and the author’s experience coalesce to reveal how Spanish dance––and more broadly percussive dance––is embraced in local culture, but sometimes experiences a marginalized status in post-secondary education. The author shares how ASU professors inspired her to advocate for inclusion of percussive dance in the Master of Fine Arts program, reveals the historical forces that influence its exclusion, shares personal experiences to illustrate the realities faced by dancers in the academy, and comes full circle in the realization that her advocacy, the positive change it enacted, and this very project are a direct result of these four artists’ influence and are examples of cultural diplomacy in action.
ContributorsChacon, Julie Elizabeth (Author) / Kaplan, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Underiner, Tamara (Committee member) / Roses-Thema, Cynthia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This thesis project explores the intricacies of dance technique through the study of one’s dance lineage, creative methodologies, and movement tendencies. This research reveals the layers that technique encompasses through the focused embodiment and analytical view of the choreographer's approach. The cast of six dancers offer their unique perspectives on technique through the embodiment process of this work. The cast has strong cultural and diverse dance backgrounds including Afro-Latin, ballet, Bharatanatyam, contemporary modern dance, hip-hop, and Irish dance. “Under The Blacklight” was the culmination of both a dance film and explorative event in which the audience had the opportunity to directly engage within various types of technique. This work stemmed from the desire to understand the notion behind dance technique development. The purpose of this investigation is to understand how to formulate a structure that serves as a basis of dance technique design. Therefore, this research is primarily focused on the process of cultivating a technique. With this intention, the work is concentrated on elucidating the foundation on a contemporary modern dance technique. While this research is centered on this specific genre of dance, it is essential to note that many similar elements are present in the techniques of other dance disciplines.
ContributorsQuiros Contreras, Nathalie (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Thompson, Keith (Committee member) / Ray, Donna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Global occurrences from the past and present such as colonization and globalization play a part in current realities. With the advent of such events, a false belief seems to have been created that in order to be modern, relatable to the present trend and global, it is mandatory to be Westernized and/or Americanized. This document focuses on the issues behind some Indians’ perception of their own culture(s), its traditions and values and how that perception might impact their everyday life. It aims to create an awareness that such a false belief seems to exist and wants to encourage the youth of India to develop their own preferred ways of connecting with their culture and its traditions. It requests and encourages every individual to question and inquire into traditions, practices, rituals, stories, songs, etc.Since India has diverse philosophies, practices, values and principles and approaches to life to offer, and coming from South India, my first two steps to be a part of this futuristic movement involve 1) studying initial works under Saiva Siddhantham - a philosophy that is unpopular, about 800 years old and believes in godliness as an energy-oriented existence, experience and way of life rather than a worship of form-based mythological characters solitarily, and 2) decoding and analyzing/interpreting characters and stories from mythologies, to understand if and how they might relate to the contemporary world. Bharatanatyam and oral storytelling have been used as artforms to represent issues, and shine an interpretative rather than mystical perspective on historical mythologies. The question “What is True to you at this Moment?” is also sought after as a way of honoring multiple ways of living and epistemologies.
ContributorsRamachandran, Siva Pooja (Author) / Jackson, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Lerman, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Sandoval, Mathew (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This thesis explores the creation of queer community and embodied connection through physical and digital spaces during Covid-19. The BodySleuth Project was an experiment in prototyping social somatic experiences - discovering the limitations and possibilities for technology to deepen social camaraderie and self awareness through movement. The BodySleuth Project was a transmedia dance theater game that incorporated live and pre-recorded performances and real time interactivity across a virtual world. Characters or “Guardians” acted as movement guides and story facilitators across the Gather.Town landscape of Rolyrbee Island. Players worked together across time zones and geographical space in their own homes to uncover tactile and digital clues and explore their own bodies. Participants occupied a completely queer universe that has been designed for and by an LGBTQIA+ community.
ContributorsLindegren, Ri (Author) / Standley, Eileen (Thesis advisor) / Rajko, Jessica (Thesis advisor) / Coleman, Grisha (Committee member) / Hayes, Lauren (Committee member) / Pinholster, Jake (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
This document investigates the nature of artistic collaboration in an immersive production. The term “collaboration” indicates the multiple participatory connections between the director and cast collaborators, the director and performers, the performers and audience, and the director and the audience. From my research on immersive dance studies, I will elaborate on three topics in this document: the collaborative interaction between the choreographer and cast collaborators, the dancers and audiences, and the choreographer and dancers. The purpose of this study is to conceptualize dance as the main expression to create active audience engagement and centralize dance in the discourse surrounding immersive performance. Dance in immersive practice prioritizes “co-authorship” through establishing a close kinesthetic and emotional sharing experience to eliminate the traditional boundary between the performers and audiences; and it innovates a new way to blur the distinction between these two parties. In this document, I will specify the definition of “immersion” through a multi-collaborative perspective that is relevant to my applied project. In addition to sharing my creative experience, I will further analyze the artistic utilization of participation, engagement, and interactivity in two existing immersive productions: Sleep No More and Home Training.
My primary methodologies to effectively conduct this research include post-performance interviewing with the audiences, dancers, and cast collaborators who are directly engaged in the immersive production; reviewing the studio practices and rehearsal footage; and the examination of existing literature, published scholarship, critical review, online video resources, professional blogs and social media sites. This research contributes to the development of contemporary dance and theater studies through an immersive lens and prioritizes interactive spectatorship within this mode of artistic expression.
My ethos of developing theatrical immersion studies as an emerging artist is to emphasize the integration of dance and theater. I strive to contribute my academic investigation to the dance field through conducting critical scholarship and maintaining artistic vitality. I hope to change the traditional paradigm of how my audiences enjoy and think about the contemporary aesthetic by honoring their diverse social identities.
ContributorsLuo, Ke (Author) / Olarte, David D.O. (Thesis advisor) / Fitzgerald, Mary M.F. (Committee member) / Hunt, Kristin K.H. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
A Framework For Framing is an evolutionary outcome of the innovative continuum and creative energy of Hip Hop culture and street dance. Framing is a unique Tracing technique developed and codified by Vo Vera, a Bboy and experimental street dancer. Framing uses the hands as tools to interact with lines and points in space. An 11-rule framework identifies, defines, and distinguishes the vocabulary, technique, and theory from other techniques and movement practices. An intrinsic aspect of the technique is the act of constantly and subjectively changing the grid every time the hands Frame, which Vo Vera defines as Gridlining. Similar to the frameworks of Threading and Connects, Framing movement vocabulary may serve to add onto the Bounce, Rock, and Groove, and to add as layer over one’s own movement, such as over Top Rocks and Footwork. This thesis documents the process of Framing technique’s development, kinesthetically, somatically, pedagogically, theoretically, and methodologically. It explores the lineages, communities and practices that influenced and expanded the development of the technique, including Vogue, Hip Hop, Breaking, Trace Waving, Threading, and Connects. It also documents the roles that Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and Forsythe Technique had in expanding the conceptualization process of development. As a qualitative research study, Framing was used in various instructional and performative settings as the staple vocabulary. The developments of the research were analyzed through the traditional street dance lens, and through the lens of LMA. Developments included over 100 Framing moves––or movement patterns that were generated in alignment with the rules, to provide an indubitable proof of concept that not everything in dance has been done, and that the expressionist, transformational spirit of Hip Hop continues to thrive.
Keywords: Breaking, Break Dance, Connects, Dance Technique, Dance Theory, Experimental Dance, Forsythe Technique, Framing, Freestyle Dance, Hip Hop, Improvisation, Laban Movement Analysis, Language Movement Synthesis, Movement Analysis, Somatics, Street Dance, Threading, Trace Vogue, Waving.
ContributorsSapienza, Angelo Vo Vera (Author) / Dyer, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Magaña, Edson (Committee member) / Aprahamian, Serouj (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Perceptions and interpretations of life experiences and actions vary across individuals. When these differences are linked to colors, they become more apparent and discernable. Colors have the ability to convey a range of emotions, evoke diverse feelings, and conjure up different images for different people. For dancers, these colors and emotions can impact the execution of a movement, resulting in variations in quality and texture, despite performing the same choreography. Notably, the same color can hold opposite meanings in different cultural contexts. Consequently, the objective of this project is to employ dance performance as a means to communicate these disparate cultural perspectives.
ContributorsPan, Houyu (Author) / Kaplan, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Dyer, Becky (Committee member) / Bowditch, Rachel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023