abstract: “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.” / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Dance 2018

Submitted by Glauber Assunção Moreira (glauber.a.moreira@gmail.com) on 2018-08-24T18:33:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação final.pdf: 8319574 bytes, checksum: bfc7083d5976839ec23a4b05404171d7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marly Santos (marly@ufba.br) on 2018-08-24T19:33:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação final.pdf: 8319574 bytes, checksum: bfc7083d5976839ec23a4b05404171d7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T19:33:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação final.pdf: 8319574 bytes, checksum: bfc7083d5976839ec23a4b05404171d7 (MD5) / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar o espetáculo Embodied, de Cristian Duarte, usando como fundamentação teórica a Embodied Cognitive Science, sobretudo no que se refere ao estudo das metáforas, abordado por George Lakoff e Mark Johnson nas publicações de 1999(Philosophy in the Flesh-The Embodied Mind its Challenge to Western Thought) e 2002 (Metáforas da Vida Cotidiana). Relacionar dança e ciência foi a estratégia utilizada para a análise coreográfica, sobretudo porque o livro Philosophy in the Flesh foi um dos pontos de partida para a construção do espetáculo. Embodied sugere relações com o pensamento científico atual. Os padrões organizativos e estruturais da cena mostram-se conectados com as hipóteses filosóficas apontadas pelos autores Lakoff e Johnson, que propõem a mudança paradigmática sobre a natureza da razão, afirmam o conceito de pensamento metafórico, a incorporação da mente (embodied mind) e sugerem, ainda, que o pensamento, assim como as ações, decorrem do sistema sensório-motor, porém se manifestam de maneiras diferentes. A cognição é o espaço onde o corpo, o ambiente e o cérebro estão acoplados densamente. Desta maneira, a metáfora torna-se uma importante ferramenta cognitiva. Nesta pesquisa, são identificadas três metáforas principais usadas pelos dançarinos durante o espetáculo: o corpo-coisa, o corpo-embate e o corpo-pornô. Observa-se que tais metáforas se estabelecem através de manipulações entre um corpo e outro, do campo de forças criado entre os corpos dos dançarinos, caracterizado por relações de polarização, relações diádicas e vetores de ação de movimento que não tem necessariamente continuidade de um corpo para o outro. As metáforas dançadas apontadas na pesquisa atuam o tempo todo durante o espetáculo e se estruturam nos conceitos de experiências e julgamentos subjetivos dos intérpretes. Observa-se que os dançarinos estão sugerindo metáforas como estratégias de pensamento e ação e que eles atuam como agentes metafóricos que compreendem e experimentam uma coisa em relação à outra. A análise buscou examinar possibilidades de relações entre os conhecimentos artísticos e científicos por acreditar serem sutis as interfaces entre essas duas áreas de conhecimento. / This research work aims to analyse the Embodied performance from Cristian Duarte, by using the theoretical foundation of the Embodied Cognitive Science for the study of the metaphors, which have previously been proposed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in their publications in 1999 (Philosophy in the Flesh-The Embodied Mind its Challenge to Western Thought) and 2002 (Methaphors we live by). The initiative to carry out a choreographic analysis based on the relationship between dance and science was undertaken in view of the fact that the book Philosophy in the Flesh was one of the starting points for the creation of the performance. Essentially, Embodied suggests relationships between the performance and the current scientific thinking on cognition. Moreover, the organisational and structural patterns of the scenes can be considered connected to the philosophical hypothesis pointed out by the authors, Lakoff and Johnson, who have proposed a paradigm change in the nature of reasoning by surrounding the metaphor concept of thinking with the incorporation of the mind (embodied mind). They suggest that thoughts, as well as actions are produced by the sensory motor system, but manifested in different ways. Cognition is the space where the body, its surroundings, and the mind are tightly joined together. Therefore, the metaphor becomes an important cognitive instrument. In this research work, three main metaphors are used to represent the ballet dancers during the Embodied performance. They are body-thing, body-collision, and body-porno. The research has revealed that the collisions between bodies, and the force field created by them, establish the metaphors that are characterised by polarised relations of actions, which do not necessarily demonstrate continuity from one body to another. In addition, the three metaphors identified in this research, are put into action at every point in time of the performance. They are structured on the basis of the experiences and subjective judgements of the interpreters. Finally, this research demonstrates that the ballet dancers are applying these metaphors as strategies of thoughts and actions. They actually perform as metaphor agents who understand and experiment one thing in relation to another. In conclusion, this analysis has shown the possible relationship between artistic and scientific knowledge, since the interfaces between these two realms of knowledge are analogous.