Matching Items (33)
Description
This thesis document encapsulates the findings of my research process in which I studied my self, my artistic process, and the interconnectivity among the various aspects of my life. Those findings are two-fold as they relate to the creation of three original works and my personal transformation through the process. This document encapsulates the three works, swimminginthepsyche, applecede and The 21st Century Adventures of Wonder Woman, chronologically from their performance dates. My personal growth and transformation is expressed throughout the paper and presented in the explanation of the emergent philosophical approach for self-study as creative practice that I followed. This creative-centered framework for embodied transformation weaves spiritual philosophy with my artistic process to sustain a holistic life practice, where the self, seen as an integrated whole, is also a direct reflection of the greater, singular and holistic existence.
ContributorsDeWitt, Inertia Q.E.D (Author) / Mitchell, John D. (Thesis advisor) / Dyer, Becky (Committee member) / De La Garza, Sarah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
During the design of interactive dance performances, dancers generate a strong relationship to the responsive media after they are given information about how to use the system. This case study observes a dancer's experience of improvising in a responsive audio system (RAS). A triangulated analysis and conclusion is formed from Laban Movement Analysis in conjunction with post-experience discussions relating to Optimal Flow. This study examines whether or not providing information about how an audio system responds to movement affects a dancers ability to achieve a heightened state of Embodied Flow while improvising in a RAS.
ContributorsAkerly, Julie (Author) / Dyer, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Coleman, Grisha (Committee member) / Ziegler, Christian (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This six month IRB approved qualitative study was held at Arizona State University to see how a group of seven university dancers' body appreciation and body perception would be affected by introduction and familiarized with Bartenieff Fundamentals and other somatic practices. During this process the individuals gained knowledge about their own bodies through somatic movement activities, journal writings, group discussions, and personal interviews. Movers then used this knowledge to create movement phrases that represented their own personal journeys with body image struggles, doubts, and insecurities. These movement phrases were then linked together in a 40-minute expressive movement piece that represented the journey the group of movers had made and was still making together.
ContributorsRodgers, Patricia (Author) / Jackson, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Britt, Melissa (Committee member) / Vissicaro, Pegge (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This study intended to identify what children's perceptions and experiences are with contact improvisation and how these experiences relate to their education; their understanding of being an individual within a community; and their physical, social, and intellectual development. An interpretive phenomenological research model was used, because this study aimed to understand and interpret the children's experience with contact improvisation in order to find meaning relating to the form's possible benefits. The research was conducted over the course of ten weeks, which included classes, interviews, discussions, questionnaires, and journals. This study showed that contact improvisation empowered the children, opened the children's awareness, developed critical thinking, and created a deeper understanding and trust of the self and relationships formed within the class. The experiences found through teaching contact improvisation to these children showed that there are benefits to teaching children the form.
ContributorsCrissman, Angel (Author) / Schupp, Karen (Thesis advisor) / Dyer, Becky (Committee member) / O'Donnell, Timothy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Bisexuality is a unique kind of sexual identity, as a gray area between heterosexuality and homosexuality. The piece You made up the Story and I Played with all the Parts explores bisexuality as a lived artistic experience based on my sexual journey within a society that advocates heterosexuality. The piece includes movement phrases and text derived from conversations with intimate partners, characters based on former partners, storytelling, a 1950s-style sex education video parody, and audience participation via dialogue. The creation of movement and dialogue manipulated heteronormative social stigmas into a canny social acceptance of bisexuality. The multifaceted nature of the piece provokes viewers to consider how sexuality is constructed socially through my own interpretation. As a result, the work suggests that bisexuality is a legitimate sexual identity and represents a culture within American society.
ContributorsBedford, Crystal (Author) / Corey, Frederick (Thesis advisor) / Dove, Simon (Thesis advisor) / Jackson, Naomi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The intention for the dance production Story was to develop and explore a collaborative creative process to communicate a specific narrative to an audience. The production took place in the Margaret Gisolo Dance Studio at Arizona State University on November 18, 19, and 20, 2011. The purpose of my thesis work was to investigate how my personal inspiration from classical ballet, balletic movement vocabulary, fantasy narrative (an imaginative fictional story), supportive lighting, set, costumes and expressive sound might merge within a collaborative dance-making process. The final choreography includes creative input from the participating dancers and designers, as well as constructive feedback from my thesis committee. My reflection on the creative process for Story describes the challenges and personal growth I experienced as a result of the project.
ContributorsAllen, Karryn (Author) / Dyer, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Murphey, Claudia (Committee member) / Gharavi, Lance (Committee member) / Piver, Harper (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Accessing the centre: complementary conditioning & somatic wellness for competitive Irish step dance
Description
This thesis examines the integration of somatic principles into Irish Step Dancing. The researcher conducted a twelve week case study that explored how utilizing the Centre-line Support System in training competitive Irish Step Dancers, through integrating Alexander Technique and Bartenieff Fundamentals of Total Body Connectivity can generate increased height and efficiency in jumping and an improvement in upper-body carriage, while longitudinally reducing the occurrence of over-use injuries. Research occurred between January and March 2012 in Tucson, Arizona and Dublin, Ireland. Additional research and reflection occurred in Belfast, Glasgow, and London, United Kingdom; Limerick, Cork, and Galway, Ireland; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Chicago, Illinois; Phoenix, Arizona; and Los Angeles, California.
ContributorsBuck, Helen (Author) / Vissicaro, Pegge (Thesis advisor) / Hoffner, Kristin (Committee member) / Jackson, Naomi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
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
Purple World was a choreographic project that investigated improvisational, compositional, design, and technological experiments to research movement possibilities in interdisciplinary and interactive settings. In developing the work, the dancers exchanged different individual perspectives through "movement recall." This movement recall was inspired by the sensations associated with their physical memories from childhood, conditioned movement patterns, and the ways dancers can use their bodies to creatively problem-solve the philosophical questions in their lives. The work united dance, interactive work, structured improvisation, props, and installation. The intersection of discussion with collaborators, creative methods inspired by other artists, and the elements described above provided a structure for the artist to investigate his choreographic artistic identity by cultivating individual movement vocabulary in himself and his dancers.
ContributorsKikuchi, Fumihiro (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Jackson, Naomi (Committee member) / Kim, Marianne (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The piece WAKE UP BREATHING holds personal significance as an investigation of thought-provoking issues of breathing through film installation, video and live performance. This research specifically addressed how breath training exercises enhance dance performance and improve a dancer’s control of their body, as well as how these exercises can function as material for choreographic inquiry. During the creation of the concert, the choreographer employed breath building exercises and applied different breath techniques with a cast of nine dancers. The choreographer and dancers worked collaboratively to develop creative material, enhance performance and help members of the audience understand why breathing in dance is so meaningful.
ContributorsKong, Zijia (Author) / Jackson, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Kaplan, Robert (Committee member) / Kim, Marianne (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019