Matching Items (53)
Description
With this document I will discuss and reflect upon the performance and art exhibition show which I presented as part of my MFA thesis at the MonOrchid Gallery in Phoenix, Arizona on February 10, 2017. The approach to my thesis comes from my perspective as a Hip Hop practitioner exploring the relationship between each artistic discipline that makes up Hip Hop. Through this lens I will show the knowledge that is built from both individual and the conventional collective understandings of Hip Hop. As a practitioner for over 20 years, Hip Hop has molded my mind to be multifaceted, giving me a strong interest in art making as a collaborative process. I believe the more you see the relationship between each medium, the more that connection manifests a larger cognizance for where these art forms can progress. The relationship between all of the mediums involved creates a rhythm; it is the understanding of rhythm that can connect all types of art. When you are able to understand the process of rhythm as a through line, you will be able to create from your own personal rhythmic qualities in all things. This paper will delve into how my thesis performance incorporated not only music production and dance, but the written form of Hip Hop culture (Writing), identity, and the fundamentals of design. I will use the discussion of these forms to explore the similarities of meaning in movement-making behind B-boying, the most fundamental aspect of visual art and in body forms within Hip Hop. My aim was to research what we (the dancers and myself) learned from the movement in conjunction with Writing. I will discuss how many ways this can be beneficial to exploring new interdisciplinary creative collaborations with
design, visual art, choreography, sculpture, and architecture. Rhythm is the connective tissue between these disciplines in Hip Hop culture.
ContributorsDenaro, Anthony (Author) / Standley, Eileen (Thesis advisor) / Kaplan, Robert (Committee member) / Grimes, Sabela D. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Exploration of Practice in Partnering is a curriculum-based, research thesis, focused on the investigation of the potential impact of studying multiple forms of dance partnering through a constructivist learning lens. The primary goal was to discover concepts and practices that underlie effective dance partnering. The study was conducted in a 15-week university dance course that provided a survey of partnering dance forms taught by the researcher who is versed in the chosen forms. In addition to professional knowledge and experience, the researcher includes theory and pedagogy from his graduate coursework. Teaching frameworks and learning experiences for the study were informed by somatics and constructivist pedagogy; a student-centered approach to learning in which students might find knowledge and meaning through experience.
The research documented in this thesis may be methodologically described as a case study and the data collection methods were qualitative. Due to IRB limitations, the data set draws only from biweekly journal entries from a class of eleven students, in addition to the researcher’s observation of students. Data streams from student journal entries were analyzed and interpreted using common protocols. Guiding questions for the research study included: How do students currently understand and perceive partnering? How do leader and follower roles play a part in dance partnering? What commonalities of partnering exist between different dance forms? Data gathered from the research revealed that each individual student’s understanding and definition of dance partnering changed over the course of the semester and students found increased meaning in their partnering interactions.
The research documented in this thesis may be methodologically described as a case study and the data collection methods were qualitative. Due to IRB limitations, the data set draws only from biweekly journal entries from a class of eleven students, in addition to the researcher’s observation of students. Data streams from student journal entries were analyzed and interpreted using common protocols. Guiding questions for the research study included: How do students currently understand and perceive partnering? How do leader and follower roles play a part in dance partnering? What commonalities of partnering exist between different dance forms? Data gathered from the research revealed that each individual student’s understanding and definition of dance partnering changed over the course of the semester and students found increased meaning in their partnering interactions.
ContributorsRivieccio, Kyle (Author) / Dyer, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Jackson, Naomi (Committee member) / Britt, Melissa (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
“shiFT: An Exploration of Empathy” is a document detailing the process of
creating the evening length dance performance, “shiFT,” through the theoretical,
somatic, kinesthetic and choreographic research of empathy. This research specifically
addressed the ability to consciously take on an empathetic perspective and the change
that must occur within oneself to co-create empathy. It focused on the factors that
impede empathetic function and the role of vulnerability in experiencing empathy.
Throughout the creation of this concert, the choreographer employed empathy building
exercises and concentrated creative processes constructed from her research into the
neurological, emotional and physical aspects of empathy with a cast of ten dancers.
Choreographer and dancers worked collaboratively to create an empathetic
environment, a pre-show film installation titled GREY MATTER, and the culminating
evening length concert piece “shiFT.”
creating the evening length dance performance, “shiFT,” through the theoretical,
somatic, kinesthetic and choreographic research of empathy. This research specifically
addressed the ability to consciously take on an empathetic perspective and the change
that must occur within oneself to co-create empathy. It focused on the factors that
impede empathetic function and the role of vulnerability in experiencing empathy.
Throughout the creation of this concert, the choreographer employed empathy building
exercises and concentrated creative processes constructed from her research into the
neurological, emotional and physical aspects of empathy with a cast of ten dancers.
Choreographer and dancers worked collaboratively to create an empathetic
environment, a pre-show film installation titled GREY MATTER, and the culminating
evening length concert piece “shiFT.”
ContributorsWitt, Rebecca (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Heywood, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
What is driving my applied project are questions derived from lived and observed experiences as an African American female born and raised in Los Angeles California to a non-native of twelve years in Arizona. I recognize situations I have gone through may not have happened if I was not a person of color and a woman. This is also true for Hispanics, Latinos, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Asians and other immigrants. The history of America as taught in public, secondary and post-secondary institutions speaks to this truth and raises the questions that I will explore in this document in relation to the process of creating my performance work Movement Speaks.
ContributorsMoore, Erika (Author) / Jackson, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Britt, Melissa (Committee member) / Reed, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
I'll go to the end of time for you (and you don't even know my name) is an evening-length solo performance created and performed by Kristopher K.Q. Pourzal. It premiered November 8-10, 2013 in the Margaret Gisolo Dance Theatre of Arizona State University. The solo was the culmination (suspension, really) of a wild creative journey, the distillation of a process that initially involved several collaborators. Through a series of neurotically/erotically repetitive episodes of self-composed song, text, and dance, the work mines questions of the desire to be seen and the desire to feel alive. The conventions and constructs of the proscenium stage are both utilized and subverted in examining this platform as uniquely suited for revealing the nature of these experiences and their potential relationship. This document is primarily an account of the show's process--its before and after--and serves as a site of exploration, explanation, analysis, reflection, questioning, and ultimately furtherance of the practice-based research made manifest in the performances.
ContributorsPourzal, Kristopher K. Q (Author) / Standley, Eileen (Thesis advisor) / Vissicaro, Pegge (Committee member) / McMahon, Jeff (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Impermanence is constant within the world humans live in; the physical environment is ever-changing, parallel with human evolution. Although the moment of a human lifespan is fleeting in comparison to their surrounding landscapes, the evidence of movement that lapses through time and space in relation to body and place reveals a hidden dance that soars across the history of humankind. This document explores the relationship between moving bodies and various environments, specifically how an individual’s perception of place influences the way people dance. Given the author’s background as a choreographer, performer, and filmmaker, the goal and method of this document is to understand the author’s and his ensemble of dancers’ perceived senses within a given geographic environment and to merge personal dialect in an artistic product. Ultimately, what was found was translating into an evening-length, movement-centered presentation.
The author's curiosity with foreign landscapes and his exploratory spirit are the driving forces for this project. Before arriving at the thesis topic, the author knew that environmental exploration and dance would be at the forefront of the research. Similar to a museum exhibition context, this document yearns for variety, and studies the environments through an event that encapsulates it all. This document explores the author’s multiple artistic interests in photography, film, and live performance, all of which were presented in a single event.
The author's curiosity with foreign landscapes and his exploratory spirit are the driving forces for this project. Before arriving at the thesis topic, the author knew that environmental exploration and dance would be at the forefront of the research. Similar to a museum exhibition context, this document yearns for variety, and studies the environments through an event that encapsulates it all. This document explores the author’s multiple artistic interests in photography, film, and live performance, all of which were presented in a single event.
ContributorsFung, Lawrence (Author) / White, Marcus (Thesis advisor) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
“Mix Mix Tayo: The Many Pieces in Our Stories'' is a written reflection, exploring the creation of the dance documentary, Carried Across the Water as well as the community event, Mix Mix Tayo. The ideas behind these works are centered in storytelling, filipino american identity and community. This research explores the use of film, dance, event production and the mixing of elements to create new wholes in order to communicate these ideas. These works were imagined in response to a call that was felt from people actively searching for healing, community and ancestral knowledge.
ContributorsCurry, Nicole (Author) / Standley, Eileen (Thesis advisor) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Committee member) / Nascimento, Eliciana (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
This research study aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of a dance wellness educational curriculum administered in a university-level dance classroom. Using a mixed methods design involving a pre-test/post-test performance assessment and document analysis for qualitative data, this study asked two questions: 1) How does participation in a semester-long course on Group Fitness Instruction and dancer wellness increase participants’ comprehension of exercise science and fitness instruction concepts? 2) How does participation in a semester-long course on Group Fitness Instruction and dancer wellness impact participants’ personal approaches to teaching, training, and wellness? Results showed that the post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores, and qualitative data collected from participants indicated deep levels of meaning-making and application of course content to personal approaches to training and teaching. This suggests that incorporating a dance wellness curriculum in a university-level dance program builds exercise science, wellness, and instructional literacy, while encouraging students to apply gained knowledge in both personal and professional capacities.
ContributorsDrew, Lisa (Author) / Standley, Eileen (Thesis advisor) / Dyer, Becky (Committee member) / Kulinna, Pamela (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Waiting for a Passenger / Ship to Go to Sea is a performance made by In Kyung Lee and performed by five dancers. It premiered in Americas Gallery at ASU Art Museum on January 20, January 24, and Jan 27, 2015. The work existed in a container of geometric spatial structure and cyclical rhythmic cycles, which were filled with repetition, accumulation, and minimalistic durational movement vocabulary. The dancers courageously ventured through the rigorous and exacting structure, transforming individual and collective struggles and vulnerabilities into the beauty of being human. This document looks into the background and creation process of the work.
ContributorsYi, In-gyŏng (Author) / Standley, Eileen (Thesis advisor) / Ellsworth, Angela (Committee member) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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