No description available.

In recent years, the lecture performance has emerged as an important format in Contemporary performance practice. Lecture performances incorporate elements of both the academic lecture and of artistic performance. They function simultaneously as meta-lectures and as meta-performances, and as such challenge established ideas about the production of knowledge and meaning in each of the forms to which they refer. The thesis includes detailed case studies of works by Chris Burden, Wagner-Feigl-Forschung, Jerome Bel, Rabih Mroue, Andrea Fraser, Xavier Le Roy, geheimagentur, Joseph Beuys, Hannah Hurtzig and Joshua Sofaer. As a hybrid format, the lecture performance always participates in more than one context. The thesis approaches the lecture performance by analysing its participation in these different contexts: contexts of lecturing – both in the university and outside of established sites of knowledge production – and contexts of performing – which include the contexts of both contemporary artistic performance and of performance history. The scope is then extended to include an analysis of further contexts that the lecture performance both establishes and participates in: contexts of making and watching performance – here, the thesis investigates the relation between artists and spectators established in lecture performances and the processes of recontextualisation that occur between live performance, documentation, and the rearticulation of documentation in a live event; contexts of addressing and instituting – here, the thesis explores how lecture performances negotiate their situation towards different institutional contexts, and how they aim to establish different kinds of publics through various ways of addressing their audiences; and finally, contexts of assembling and disseminating – here, the thesis examines how lecture performances and related forms engage with a discursive context that transcends the frame of the singular event. Finally, all of these contexts are revisited in relation to the lecture performance 'Would Joseph Beuys have used PowerPoint®' which is included on a DVD.

This thesis examines contemporary theatre dance artists' economic conduct to fill a gap in knowledge in current dance scholarship. It seeks to identify economic competencies and behaviours which dance artists employ in their work lives. Furthermore, it explores to what extent the theatre dance field's senior representatives are influential in shaping these competencies and behaviours. It also investigates the relationship between dance artists' economic conduct and their artistic and financial status, in and outside of theatre dance. The thesis's central hypothesis is that dance artists approach their artistic practice(s) and related economic circumstances and behaviours as interrelated value spheres, despite publicly upholding their separateness. An empirical ethnographic investigation, which has involved twenty-two research participants, underpins the thesis's argument. By utilising interviews, community reviews and the embodied presence of the researcher in the field, the study's methodology has aimed to create a more level playing field between the researcher and participants. In addition, it draws on commissioned governmental and independent reports which document and debate New Labour's cultural policies between 1997 and 2010. This study's economic perspective on its research field has been absent in previous key studies. It calls into question idealised perceptions held by many about dance artists as labourers and theatre dance as a work field. To achieve its goals, the study, firstly, provides insights about dance artists' livelihood systems which emphasise that they employ distinct economic strategies and engage expertly with multiple value economies. Secondly, it reveals that New Labour's cultural policies inadvertently disrupted the theatre dance sector's central value-generating mechanisms. In doing so, they destabilised the secondary dance-related labour market and affected dance artists' ability to self-fund their practice. Thirdly, the thesis underlines that cultural policymakers by disregarding dance artists' livelihood systems delivered unexpected outcomes which contradicted their expressed goals.

This thesis addresses the role of physical consciousness in contemporary performance training praxis, outlining my position as a performance maker involved in a range of dance and theatre training disciplines, with particular recourse to the Japanese contemporary movement expression of Butoh. The term praxis refers to a set of practical aims put forward throughout the writing, as well as referencing an ethos of self governed practice within independent movement training and performance. The arguments posed draw from a personal critical understanding based on different training programs with European and Japanese butoh artists. Through evolving my performance training praxis towards certain choreographic as well as metapractical aims, I seek to challenge the notion of 'performance mastery' - a term which, within a traditional western performance context might imply control, virtuosity and technical discipline - in response to an anti-aesthetical approach to dance, as found in what I argue to be the dysfunctional, non-kinetic body of the butoh dancer. In making explicit the connections between studio practice, anatomical and somatic investigation and outdoor environmental exploration, I examine the role of 'physical consciousness' in butoh as a contemporary movement approach which might shift current established discourses surrounding western theatrical dance training towards an open investigation of movement practice and repertoire through transdisciplinary approaches which interface the languages of ecology, geology and cartography. Physical consciousness refers to an internal dialogue held by the butoh dancer between a range of visual images, or actual experiences gained through direct contact with specific environments, and his or her means of physicalising these images and experiences in movement. Thus, physical consciousness requires the butoh dancer to constantly engage in a double exposure between the internal image, as fed through language, and those external forms presented. The experiential mode of practice is prioritised throughout as the writing seeks to stabilise empiricist notions of practice as contingent on both first hand and collated accounts of perceptual mechanisms, while research methods used here draw on social science practices with the aim of producing an embedded critique of physical consciousness. Within my dance research and production methods, physical consciousness articulates an internal awareness of the body's movement potential which questions the how rather than the why or where of the dancer's movement capabilities, minimising the distance between internal awareness and aesthetic form, between the dancer and the dance

This project investigates performance-making processes and productive mechanisms in contemporary performance, specifically enquiring into performer expertise within the practice. Contemporary performance making is here conceived as distinct to traditional text-based theatre-making and instead as being concerned with creative invention rather than a creative interpretation of a pre-written play. In addressing questions emerging from and of practice, this investigation approaches the enquiry from a practitioner’s perspective, seeking to establish an epistemological account of performer expertise. The project has been conceived through a practice-centred approach, with the enquiry taking place in both the traditional academic mode, as well as in a performance practice mode, leading to a written dissertation as well as the documentation of a series of publicly presented performances including instances of rehearsal processes, made available online as well as on a web archive CD. The thesis establishes from the outset the necessity for a process-sensitive approach to a theorisation of performance-making and identifies, in published writing related to the field, a lack of analytical concern with ‘process’. It draws on theoretical models borrowed from both the disciplines of ‘process philosophy’ and ‘practice theory’, in order to establish a practice-philosophical model of performance-making. A historical account of the emergence of performance inventive practices and specifically of the function of the performer as the creator of performance ‘material’ in those practices, leads to a conceptualisation of performer expertise in which ‘selfcultivation’ as well as the notion of the ‘singular’ are defining. Performance-making is more specifically theorised as a creative inventive process in which practitioners work with a ‘sense’ of something that is crucially ‘unforeseeable’ before the moment or moments of its emergence, yet recognisable in terms of performance-specific decision-making when it does emerge. The sort of ‘sensing’ that is at stake in this context is identified as ‘expert-intuitive’, in its capacity as unforeseeable but recognised. The thesis draws briefly on published accounts from the fields of neuroscience as well as philosophy in order to attempt to create an epistemological account of performer expertise, with a specific focus on expert decision-making processes.

This thesis examines 'cultural intervention' by arts practitioners/social activists in inner city London,England, in the lives of adults who have 'learning disabilities'. 'Cultural intervention' is thought necessary largely in response to their social and cultural exclusion. This has been highlighted by recent shifts in social policy, particularly those of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990. An anthropological critique of social policy and welfarism as related to people with learning disabilities in Britain is offered, questioning the existence of 'community' at an ideological and material level. Also, the role of the 'arts' as an arena in which social and cultural attitudes can be challenged is explored. This is achieved through the study of relevant theoretical literature, drawing on anthropology and performance and disability studies,combined with analysis of fieldwork data collected in an arts company, Entelechy, between January 1997 and April 1999. Consequences of social policy on the lives of people with learning disabilities are (indirectly) explored through their participation in 'performance' (including drama, dance and music);visual and tactile media; and narrative, based in workshops. Issues around representation, subjectivity and corporeality are addressed. Qualitative anthropological methods were utilised, specifically participant observation and interviews, in addition to non-traditional techniques, as the work of Entelechy encompasses a wide range of people, including those with poor communication skills. Additionally, the research demonstrates that behaviour labelled as 'pathological' by the medical profession is often a powerful form of protest, meeting participants' needs. Entelechy's work is contextualised within alternative arts movements incorporating the avant-garde and community theatre. This runs in opposition to the employment of arts as 'therapy' by some 'professionals' working with learning disabled people, who emphasise pathology and rehabilitation towards a 'normative' state, rather than creative ability or cultural expression. A unique cultural experiment is thus examined, creating arenas for dialogue.

Measuring the value of art and assessing the success of performing arts organizations have been a global concern in the creative industry for the past few decades (Pidd, 2012; Ellis, 2003; Reeves 2002). The complexity of art, by its nature, makes it difficult to come up with the ideal measuring system. The ‘value for money’ (VFM) audit has been widely introduced in many government departments and non-profit organizations. However, whether the VFM method can be proclaimed as an appropriate form of measurement of the value of a performing arts organization is yet to be explored. This leads to the objective of this project, that an investigation will be undertaken to see if the VFM method is appropriate and effective for the performing arts industry. Various research materials such as the VFM manual and reports were examined to enhance my understanding of VFM practice. Comparisons were made, reviewing local professional practice from the perspective of the HKCO and other practices on a global scale, and underpin this research. The VFM report of the HKCO, the first VFM study of a performing arts organization conducted in Hong Kong by the Audit Commission in 2009–10, serves as a case study of this research approach. Objective data were collected through surveys, focus group discussions and in-depth semi-structured interviews. With the use of a combination of qualitative and quantitative research, using both fieldwork and desk research methods, a balanced outlook on this matter was achieved. The contribution by a performing arts organization that operates in an innovative and creative industry is intangible and difficult to measure. Arguably, the value of art can be understood in many ways, not just in monetary terms. Currently, there is no specific format for reporting or conducting processes in a VFM audit. The design of the methodology and means of interpreting data in the context of the performing arts industry becomes a key issue in a VFM audit. It is vital for members of the audit team to have a thorough understanding of the arts, and also the operation of the arts industry, before drawing conclusions and recommendations. Otherwise, what is revealed to the public through the audit report may be filtered by misleading interpretations. This research has concluded that VFM audits fail to reflect a full picture of the value of a performing arts organization. The desired solution is an appropriate methodology for a VFM audit appropriate to context to avoid the public misjudging the value or success of a performing arts organization and undermining its reputation and the trust the public has placed in it. Should there be a VFM audit conducted on a performing arts company in the future, the term ‘management audit’ or ‘operational audit’ may be preferable to ‘value for money audit’.

No description available.

Urban Outdoor Recreation Provision (UORP) seems to interpret the concepts of leisure and recreation as 'activity', but a more comprehensive conceptual framework has many more components. This has important implications for UORP. As one instance of this, an 'experience' definition of recreation, should matter to UORP, as the same 'activity' can create a variety of 'experiences', in different settings, for different people. It is argued that if UORP provided 'experiences', this would actually form a clearer, more appropriate and reliable basis forUORP. This thesis aims to increase the understanding of the concepts of leisure and recreation in the context of UORP and to emphasise the need for a more comprehensive conceptual picture as the basis of UORP. To achieve this, the research carries out a multi-level, hierarchical investigation: the first level, the conceptual level, examines the meanings of leisure and recreation in historical, academic and philosophical contexts. It emerges that the multidimensional concepts of leisure and recreation evolve with time and they are not synonymous terms; they are similar concepts, but, with distinctions. Both leisure and recreation may be approached as 'activity', as 'social matter' and as a 'holistic concept'. But significantly for UORP, and distinctively, leisure is defined as 'time' and recreation as 'experience' and as 'outcome of experience' . At the second level, the operational level, the research tests the propositions made and the issues raised at the first level by studying the practice of UORP. This is done through a postal questionnaire survey of Metropolitan local authorities (covering attitudes and opinions) and case studies of Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council, as provider, and Saltwell Park, as specific urban outdoor recreation place. The research concludes that leisure and recreation have a weak link to UORP which is preoccupied with 'activity'. There is no significant input from other definitional aspects such as 'time' and 'experience', which could provide a sounder, overall basis for UORP and a conceptual link in resolving certain contemporary issues such as the 'problem' of vandalism, 'perceived decline' (and revival) of parks and making future Urban Outdoor Recreation Provision more efficient, creative and flexible. Proposals to improve practice are made on the basis of the findings of the empirical research.

The thesis presents a study of three theatres in Camden: the Bedford Theatre, the Open Space Theatre, and the Round House. Each section contains details of the theatres' histories, their managements and their artistic achievements. The amount of detail varies according to the availability of material and in each case the emphasis is different. In all three sections particular periods have been discussed at length because they represent a significant achievement on the part of the management and artistic directors. At all times the author has stressed the importance of the repertoire which each organisation presented and casebook studies of key productions have been written to illustrate the use made of the available stage space.