Matching Items (71)
Filtering by
- Status: Published
Description
This project explores the relationship between modern dance and Chinese individual identity from a personal perspective. Modern dance emerged from the West, carrying Western philosophies of individual identity and importance, where the composition of persons defines the group. The Chinese philosophy of the individual, however, has developed in a different context where the group defines the persons that constitute it. There is an interesting negotiation of meaning in the convergence of these two perceptions within the art of modern dance in China. A review of literature was conducted on modern dance in China, as well as the formation and development of individual identity in Chinese philosophy and culture. Over the summer of 2013, the author then conducted ethnographic research while attending the Beijing Dance Festival in Beijing, China. Reflections on the research and experiences were further explored through the creation of a dance piece and then compiled in this paper. Primary findings include that there are differences in understandings of time, space, and the use of technology that influence the practice of modern dance in China. Also, though the concept of self-expression is closely tied to Chinese ideas of modern dance, what is seen onstage raises the question of whose self is being expressed. The interaction of Eastern and Western understandings creates a dissonance of meaning.
ContributorsNunn, Jasmine Charis (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis director) / Zou, Yu (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
The goal of this study was to look at touch and dance from different views to gain a better perspective on the benefits of touch, mainly when used in dance and also perhaps in broader contexts. Part of this investigation also looked at the stigmatized view of touch in the American culture and in turn the lack of knowledge about, and comfort with touch in our society. A personal research component involved the creation of a solo reflecting about the question of why I connect with touch so intensely. The bulk of the study involved facilitating touch experiences in two introductory level dance classes for high school students. Daily journal entries were collected from each of the eighty students that focused on their personal experiences with touch in a series of six movement sessions. The study shows that bringing touch to the dance classroom has multiple benefits, including promoting a greater understanding and acceptance of the sense of touch, a positive impact on students' views about dance, and a break down of preconceived notions about the mind and the body.
ContributorsSteinken, Brigitte Rose (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis director) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Dyer, Becky (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Dance (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The purpose of the production and the choreographed work, "Sustainable Place," was to bring awareness to the public about sustainability issues through the medium of dance. The piece was performed in Nelson Fine Arts Center's Dance Lab at Arizona State University on October 8th, 9th, and 10th of 2010. The work was layered with inspirations from sustainability issues, recycling processes, and resiliency concepts.
ContributorsNewman, Emily (Author) / Jackson, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Committee member) / Pijawka, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
ABSTRACT The participatory and interactive nature of the "Hearing in Color" project unites people from different walks of life. My interest lies in creating a space for people to explore their creativity, think critically, and hone their own voice in a safe and collaborative environment. I have discovered that all art forms: movement, voice, visual or digital, stimulate possibilities for expression and enable people to move forward in new directions. To this end, my project fused multiple avenues of engagement, innovative dance technology, and alternative or site-specific locations to create a community-based project aimed at promoting dialogue and enhancing ties between several groups in the Phoenix area. In this paper, I argue that a multi-layered approach to community-arts and the use of advanced technology builds bridges for diverse populations to come together to participate and learn from one another. I also maintain that community exists among all communities involved in a process of community arts, not just the participants and facilitator. When community engagement and awareness are prioritized, a multi-layered approach creates the possibilities of growth, honesty, and understanding for all people involved.
ContributorsBritt, Melissa (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Vissicaro, Pegge (Committee member) / Mitchell, John (Committee member) / Woodson, Stephani (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
Personal experiences with body image dysmorphia and an eating disorder necessitated that I do a thorough investigation into why they happened and why I felt this way about my body. For this project, not only was I motivated by my own struggles, but I noticed that these experiences were shared among my family, my friends, and my fellow peers in the dance community. We had been struggling since childhood. I began to realize that these behaviors and thought patterns were manifestations of apology, an apology that women have been learning, living, and spreading since our beginnings. Why do women apologize? How does this apology affect how we view, treat, and navigate our bodies in space? In what ways can dance be the mechanism by which we remove apology and individually and collectively find joy, freedom, and liberation? Not only was I interested in understanding the ‘why’, but I was deeply interested in finding a solution. Research for this thesis came from written materials, stories that the dancers and I shared, and choreographic research in the body. The final goal was to create a community-based performance of dance, spoken word, and storytelling that demonstrated the findings from each of those questions and catalyzed a conversation about how we can liberate ourselves. We used rehearsals to explore our own experiences within apology and shame, while also exploring how the ways in which we practice being unapologetic in the dance space can translate to how we move through the world on a daily basis.
Through a deep analysis and application of Sonya Renee Taylor’s book The Body Is Not An Apology, I discovered that apology is learned. We learn how to apologize through body shame, the media, family/generational trauma, and government/law/policy. This apology is embodied through gestures, movement patterns, and postures, such as bowing the head, hunching the shoulders, and walking around others. Apology causes us to view our bodies as things to be manipulated, discarded, and embarrassed by. After recognizing why we apologize and how it affects our bodies, we can then begin to think of how to remove it. Because the body the site of the problem, it is also the site of the solution. Dance gives us an opportunity to deeply learn our bodies, to cultivate their power, and to heal from their traumas. By being together in community as women, we are able to feel seen and supported as we work through uncharted territory of being free from apology in these bodies. By dancing in ways that allow us to take up space, to be free, to be unapologetic, we use dance as a practice for life. Through transforming ourselves, we begin to transform the world and rewrite the narrative of how we exist in and move through our bodies as women.
Through a deep analysis and application of Sonya Renee Taylor’s book The Body Is Not An Apology, I discovered that apology is learned. We learn how to apologize through body shame, the media, family/generational trauma, and government/law/policy. This apology is embodied through gestures, movement patterns, and postures, such as bowing the head, hunching the shoulders, and walking around others. Apology causes us to view our bodies as things to be manipulated, discarded, and embarrassed by. After recognizing why we apologize and how it affects our bodies, we can then begin to think of how to remove it. Because the body the site of the problem, it is also the site of the solution. Dance gives us an opportunity to deeply learn our bodies, to cultivate their power, and to heal from their traumas. By being together in community as women, we are able to feel seen and supported as we work through uncharted territory of being free from apology in these bodies. By dancing in ways that allow us to take up space, to be free, to be unapologetic, we use dance as a practice for life. Through transforming ourselves, we begin to transform the world and rewrite the narrative of how we exist in and move through our bodies as women.
ContributorsWaller, Marguerite Lilith (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis director) / Britt, Melissa (Committee member) / Lerman, Liz (Committee member) / Dean, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The arts benefit society through positively affecting an individual's physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development. The arts are comprised of many genres. The four genres of art this thesis researched includes: dance, theatre, music, and the visual arts. These four genres aid the four areas of human development. The research present in this thesis demonstrates a variety of developmental benefits from participation in the arts. While the benefits of participating in the arts exist, there is not equal accessibility to the arts. People are prevented from participating in the arts mainly due to cost. Four art specialists, one for each genre of the arts were anonymously interviewed to provide real life examples of participating in the arts. These findings informed a business plan for a non-profit arts center, Arts Center for Expression. This center is based off the beliefs that there is an artistic experience for everyone and that anyone who wants to should have access. Following the research in this thesis is a business plan for Arts Center for Expression. It details the operating plan, funding, future/harvest, competition, market, marketing plan, and potential impact. The benefits of the arts are numerous and undeniable.
ContributorsMcHugh, Colleen Godfrey (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis director) / Schupp, Karen (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Computer Science and Dance are choice driven disciplines. The output of their processes are compositions of experience. Dancers are not computers and computers are not people but there are comparable traces of humanity in the way each interpret and interact with their respective inputs, outputs, and environments. These overlaps are perhaps not obvious, but in an increasingly specialized world it is important to discuss them. Dynamic Programming and improvisational movement exist within exclusive corners of their respective fields and are characterized by their inherent adaption to change. Inspired by the work of Ivar Hagendoorn, John Cage and other interdisciplinary artists, complexMovement is motivated by the need to create space for intersections between these two powerful groups and find overlaps in the questions they ask to achieve their goals. Dance and Computer Science are just one example of hidden partnerships between their respective fields. Their respective sides allow for ample side by side comparisons but for the purpose of this work, we will focus upon two smaller sectors of their studies: improvisational movement and the design of Dynamic Programming algorithms.
ContributorsOhlsen, Lai Yi Ni (Author) / Britt, Melissa (Thesis director) / Crissman, Angel (Committee member) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The topic of my creative project centers on the question of "How can the audience's choices influence dancers' improvisation?" This dance work seeks to redefine the relationship between audience and performers through integration of audience, technology, and movement in real-time. This topic was derived from the fields of Computer Science and Dance. To answer my main question, I need to explore how I can interconnect the theory of Computer Science/fundamentals of a web application and the elements of dance improvisation. This topic interests me because it focuses on combining two studies that do not seem related. However, I find that when I am coding a web application, I can insert blocks of code. This relates to dance improvisation where I have a movement vocabulary, and I can insert different moves based on the context. The idea of gathering data from an audience in real time also interests me. I find that data is most useful when a story can be deduced from that data. To figure out how I can use dance to create and tell a story about the data that is collected, I find that to be intriguing as well. The main goals of my Creative Project are to learn the skills needed to develop a web application using the knowledge and theory that I am acquiring through Computer Science as well as learning about the skills needed to produce a performance piece. My object for the overall project is to create an audience-interactive experience that presents choices for dancers and creates a connection between two completely different studies: Computer Science and Dance. My project will consist of having the audience enter their answers to preset questions via an online voting application. The stage background screen will be utilized to show the question results in percentages in the form of a chart. The dancers will then serve as a live interpretation of these results. This Creative Project will serve as a gateway between the work that has been cultivated in my studies and the real world. The methods involve exploring movement qualities in improvisation, communicating with my cast about what worked best for the transitions between each section of the piece, and testing for the web applications. I learned the importance of having structure within improvisational movement for the purpose of choreography. The significance of structure is that it provides direction, clarity, and a sense of unification for the dancers. I also learned the basics of the programming language, Python, in order to develop the two real-time web applications. The significance of learning Python is that I will be able to add this to my skillset of programming languages as well as build upon my knowledge of Computer Science and develop more real-world applications in the future.
ContributorsNgai, Courtney Taylor (Author) / Britt, Melissa (Thesis director) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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
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