This thesis is an account of my directorial process for the Spring 2023 production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods. I begin by illustrating how this show speaks to the contemporary political and social moment in the United States through a libretto and score that insists the only way to battle the giants brought on by the pursuit of individual goals is for a community to take responsibility for its errors and work together. I put Into the Woods in conversation with the cartoon series Over the Garden Wall to ground the show in an American context, discussing how our designers drew inspiration for the cartoon’s use of 19th Century American folk aesthetics and distorted images of monstrous figures to develop a unique approach to the world of the play. I then chronicle the audition and rehearsal process, including the incorporation of Michael Chekhov technique into character creation as well as the paths individual actors took to know and embody their characters. I offer an account of some of the unique problems we faced during tech week and how we, like the very characters in the story we were telling, came together to overcome the difficulties we faced. I conclude with an account of the performances and how I have taken the lessons from this process into the professional work I have undertaken since.

This dissertation examines the work of two African-American female choreographers, namely Joan Miller and Carole Johnson, and their engagement with the Black Aesthetic during the height of the Black Arts movement in America. The work seeks to examine how these subjects articulated, shaped, responded to, extended, critiqued or otherwise engaged with the notion of the Black aesthetic primarily through the mediums of concert dance and choreography. In consideration of the above, I conducted two, single subject case studies with Joan Miller and Carole Johnson in order to better understand the complexity of the experience of these African-American female dance makers during the selected period and gain a richer understanding of the ways in which they did or did not engage with the notion of the Black Aesthetic through the medium of dance. The subjects for the single case studies were selected because they fit the criteria to answer the research question: each woman is an African-American dance maker who was generating choreography and working actively in the dance field during the identified historical period (1960-1975.). The study employs content analysis of individual semi-structured interviews, cultural documents (including but not limited to playbills, photographs, newspaper clippings, video documentation, and choreographers' notes) and related literature (both revisionist and of the period) to generate a robust portrait of the experiences of the subjects under study. Taken simultaneously, critical race theory and Black feminist thought supply an analytical framework for this project that has allowed me to study the intersecting and mutually constitutive aspects of race, class, gender and economic location from a unique standpoint--that of African-American female choreographers during the Black Power/Black Arts Movement era--in an effort the answer the research question and sub-questions central to this project. The dissertation ultimately posits that both Johnson and Miller did, in fact engage meaningfully with key concepts articulated under the banner of the Black Aesthetic during the height of the U.S.-based Black Arts Movement. Moreover, the project asserts that both women extended their understandings of the Black Aesthetic in order to embrace additional issues of interest; namely, gender and class (on Miller's part) and international human rights (on Johnson's part.) As such, this project ultimately discusses the implications of the inclusion of Miller and Johnson's work within the canon of dance history/studies as a radical shift from the dominant narratives concerning the work of Black female choreographers during the period. Additionally, the dissertation asserts that the inclusion of these narratives in the context of literature and scholarship on the Black Power/Black Arts Movement supports moves in contemporary revisionist scholarship interested in broadening the research on the work of women in the creative arts during the period of interest. Lastly, the project suggests new research trajectories and areas of inquiry but explicating Patricia Hill Collins's work on Black Feminist Thought. By looking at the defining characteristics of Collins scholarship, the project extends the discussion on African-American women's epistemology to include dance performance and creation and complicates the role of who is empowered to make meaning through the lens of Black Feminist Thought and in what form. / Dance

Organ-ing is a multidisciplinary choreographic project that operates through a set of obscure organs that expand from spaces into bodies and from bodies into spaces. These organs don’t have vital functions and don’t seem to want to be named either; one could absolutely survive without them. Their byproducts are dances, sounds, objects, and poems: a gathering of lovers in lust for touch. Organ-ing is a strategy for a worlding that doesn’t stop at the body's borders. It is realised through an interest in the organ as a form that holds things as well as an ongoing formation. As an organ grows, I learn what it does. The project doesn’t follow linear paths of causality concerning what forms what: these organs shape and are shaped by what they create and hold. While realised and felt inside the human body, they also pour into and out of it. They might be organs of a human but they aren’t human organs. These emergent organs propose a sense of fiction to intertwine with the body’s pre-existing narratives, whether medical or holistic, and bring forth an array of fantasies that weave together the felt sense of the body. The organs of organ-ing don’t mean correcting or questioning what is already there. Instead, they twist or expand mostly pre-existent physical capacities to fabricate a body lustfully entangled with itself and its environment, with the ability and deep desire to belong. This alternative thesis is a website found on https://organ-ing.gergodfarkas.com/. The website contains hyperlinks, which lead to a series of footnotes. These footnotes can also be read as a coherent text.

Through two books and a series of video documentations of live performances Mette Ingvartsen makes choreography into a territory of physical, artistic and social experimentation. The Artificial Nature Series focusses on how relations between human and non-human agency can be explored and reconfigured through choreography. By investigating and creating a ‘nonhuman theater’ questions regarding material agency, ecology, natural disasters, the Anthropocene and non-subjective performativity are posed. The resulting reflections are closely related to the poetic principles utilized to create the performances, while also drawing connections to territories outside theater. By contrast, 69 positions inscribes itself into a history of human performance with afocus on nudity, sexuality and how the body historically has been a site for political struggles. By creating a guided tour through sexual performances – from the naked protest actions of the 1960’s, through an archive ofpersonal performances into a reflection on contemporary sexual practice – this solo work rethinks audience participation and proposes a notion of soft and social choreography. The contrasting performative strategiesarticulate a twofold notion of expanded choreography: on the one hand movement is extended beyond the human body by including the agency of nonhuman performers, and on the other hand, movement is expanded into animaginary and virtual space thanks to ‘language choreography’. / <p>LINKS</p><p>https://vimeo.com/164552586</p><p>https://vimeo.com/164558381</p>

Abstract Choreography modelling, as a service-oriented architecture specific technique, is increasingly present in embedded systems development domain. This technique specifies a flow of interactions between participants' services from the global or neutral point of view while the specified models represent an integral part of the overall software architecture. Choreography modelling languages that are currently used in embedded systems domain, however, are not expressive enough to capture the choreography-relevant information in this domain. For this reason, choreography specifications are often lacking information or include ambiguous information. This allows misinterpretation of the specified choreography models and leads to difficulties in communication among stakeholders that use those models. The objective of this research is to advance the design of choreography modelling languages by identifying the information content that is relevant in embedded systems domain and by designing a choreography modelling language that supports that information content. To achieve this objective, this research adopted the design science research framework and five individual studies were conducted within this framework. These studies used methods such as the interviews with practitioners, company specific documents and open standards to understand the challenges in industry, systematic literature review to collect the existing scientific knowledge about the utilization of choreography in embedded systems and the focus groups to evaluate the designed language. Based on these study results, the information content that is relevant for choreography modelling in embedded systems domain was identified and then supported with the design of choreography modelling language. The design of the choreography modelling language is evaluated in academic and industry context. The evaluation in academic context is realized by language implementation while the evaluation in industry is realized with industry experts. Language evaluation showed increased expressiveness of the designed language and indicated on possible benefits from its use in testing and protocol development area. These benefits include the reduction of development time and errors in the testing phase while the reduction of maintenance burden and performance improvement can be expected in the protocol development area. / Tiivistelmä Koreografinen mallintaminen on enenevässä määrin käytetty tekniikka sulautettujen järjestelmien palvelukeskeisten arkkitehtuurien määrittelyssä. Tämän mallintamisen avulla pystytään määrittämään palveluiden ja osallistujien välisten vuorovaikutusten virtaa globaalilla tasolla kun taas määritellyt mallit kuvaavat ohjelmistoarkkitehtuurin keskeisiä osakokonaisuuksia. Tällä hetkellä sulautettujen järjestelmien koreografiseen mallintamiseen käytetyt kielet eivät ole tarpeeksi ilmaisuvoimaisia kattaakseen alalla tarvittavien mallien oleelliset tietosisällöt. Tästä syystä koreografiamalleista puuttuu usein oleellisia tietoja tai tietosisällöt eivät ole yksiselitteisiä. Tämä johtaa koreografiamallien tietosisältöjen virheelliseen tulkintaan, joka taas aiheuttaa haasteita malleja hyödyntävien sidosryhmien välisessä vuorovaikutuksessa. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on edistää koreografiamallinnuksessa käytettävien kielten suunnittelua tunnistamalla ne tietosisällöt, jotka ovat oleellisia sulautetuille järjestelmille sekä suunnitella kieli, joka tukee oleellisia tietosisältöjä. Tavoitteen saavuttamiseksi sovellettiin "design science" (suunnittelun tutkimus) tutkimusmenetelmää, jolla toteutettiin viisi tapaustutkimusta. Näissä tutkimuksissa hyödynnettiin teollisuuden asiantuntijoiden haastatteluita, yrityskohtaisia dokumentteja ja avoimia standardeja, joiden avulla pystyttiin ymmärtämään teollisuuden kohtaamia haasteita tutkimusalueella. Systemaattisen kirjallisuuskatsauksen avulla kerättiin yhteen olemassa oleva tieteellinen tietämys koreografian käytöstä sulautetuissa järjestelmissä. Kehitetyn kielen sopivuutta teolliseen tuotekehitykseen arvioitiin asiantuntiaryhmille järjestetyissä työpajoissa. Saatujen tutkimustulosten valossa koreografiamallinnuksessa tarvittavat oleelliset tietosisällöt sulautettujen järjestelmien alueella pystyttiin määrittämään sekä kehittämään tietosisältöä tukeva koreografian mallinnuskieli. Kehitetty mallinnuskieli on arvioitu akateemisessa kontekstissa toteuttamalla koreografian mallinnuskieli. Teollisessa ympäristössä arvioinnin ovat suorittaneet teollisuuden asiantuntijat. Arviointien tuloksena voidaan todeta, että kehitetyllä mallinnuskielellä on parempi ilmaisuvoima kuin aiemmin käytössä olleilla kielillä. Lisäksi saatiin viitteitä kielen soveltuvuudesta testauksessa ja protokollien kehityksessä. Kieltä soveltamalla saavutettiin lyhempi kehitysaika ja vähennettiin virheitä testausvaiheessa. Lisäksi protokollan kehityksen osuudessa oletetaan ylläpidon kuormittavuuden vähenevän ja suorituskyvyn paranevan.

Topic: Choreographical strategies of aerobic fitness teams Objective: To find out according to given criteria, which types of transitions from formation to formation in the competition FISAF fitness aerobic, have the highest impression (effect) on the observer. The types of transitions evaluated are; short and simple transitions, combination of transitions and long and complex transitions. Methods: Sequential mixed method was used to obtain the results. Three criteria, specific for the solutions of space and floor pathways, have been designed for indirect observation and quantitative analysis of the selected choreographies. Second criterion was evaluated by twenty experts through participatory observation and the results were quantified. Qualitative analysis was used in the second part of the third criterion and for all results of the quantitative analysis. Method of comparison was used to compare all results. Conclusion: Most effective showed to be the short and simple transitions, followed by combination of transitions. Long and complex transitions were least impressive for the observer. KEY WORDS: Space and floor pathways solutions, effect, choreography, aerobic fitness, creation

Funcionalidades de software expostas como serviços Web são cada vez mais comuns e suas formas de composição e coordenação são cada vez mais imprescindíveis. Orquestração e coreografia, tradicionais abordagens de composição de serviços Web, são providas por ferramentas voltadas ao gerenciamento de processos de negócio com diferentes enfoques. Apesar do sucesso dessas abordagens, existem ainda desafios a serem superados, tais como a dificuldade de manutenção em fluxos de controle já existentes, o custo de comunicação associado às interações com os serviços Web, o conhecimento do processo de negócio por parte dos serviços e ainda a compatibilidade dos mesmos em uma composição. Como alternativa às abordagens tradicionais, esta dissertação propõe o uso da abordagem WED-flow para composição de serviços Web, de modo que a execução de processos de negócio seja orientada pelas alterações do estado dos dados. Na abordagem proposta, o fluxo de controle não é um requisito, mas sim uma consequência da execução dos serviços Web, o que proporciona maior flexibilidade para o desenvolvimento e a manutenção das aplicações. Mais concretamente, a primeira contribuição deste trabalho é a proposição e a avaliação de cenários possíveis de orquestração e coreografia de acordo com critérios pré-definidos. A segunda contribuição é a implementação da abordagem WED-flow para a composição de serviços Web, bem como sua validação prática e sua avaliação em relação aos cenários de coreografia e orquestração. / Features of software exposed as Web services are becoming more common and their forms of composition and coordination are increasingly essential. Orchestration and choreography, traditional approaches for Web service compositions, are provided by tools that manage business processes with different approaches. Despite the success of these approaches, there are still challenges to be overcome such as the difficulty of maintaining flows in existing control, the communication cost associated with Web service interactions, knowledge of the business process by the services and even their compatibility in service compositions. As an alternative to traditional approaches, this paper proposes the use of WED-flow approach for Web services composition, so that the execution of business processes is driven by changes in data states. In our approach, the control flow is not a requirement but a consequence of the Web service execution, which provides greater flexibility for the development and maintenance of applications. More specifically, the first contribution of this work is to propose and evaluate possible scenarios of orchestration and choreography according to predefined criteria. The second contribution of this work is the implementation of WED-flow approach for Web service compositions, as well as its validation in the choreography and orchestration scenarios.

Proponho uma reflexão sobre a prática coreográfica em dança com uma comunidade específica: os alunos do Ensino Médio do Colégio Estadual Júlio de Castilhos, de Porto Alegre – RS. Investigando um contexto institucional, público e de ensino, meu objeto de estudo centra-se no corpo como inscrição social e dançante, articulando procedimentos coreográficos com grandes grupos. Busco compreender a coreografia, sobretudo, como ato político e como teorização de identidade – corporal, individual e social (FOSTER, 2011) –, além de compreendê-la como possível catalisador na proposta de indicar o corpo social como corpo dançante, e vice-versa. Para este projeto prático, escolho procedimentos ligados às danças urbanas, e especialmente a Hip Hop Dance, mantendo como principais referências estudos nacionais, Rodrigues (2006), Ribeiro e Cardoso (2011), e estudos estrangeiros, Faure Marie-Carmen Garcia (2002, 2003, 2005). Aspectos da etnografia, como o recurso fotográfico, são pensados como método de observação sobre o corpo e o gesto dos alunos, tendo como suportes os conceitos de capital, habitus e campo (BOURDIEU, 1994). A transposição de conceitos sociológicos para o âmbito da dança contemporânea é experimentada a fim de alimentar as reflexões que compreendem o corpo e suas relações sociais de poder e pertencimentos. Como referência disso, aponto autores como Sylvia Faure (2001), Helen Thomas (2003), Pierre-Emmanuel Sorignet (2004) e Suzane Weber da Silva (2010). Como método de pesquisa, opto pela teoria enraizada (STRAUSS; CORBIN, 1990; PAILLÉ 1994). Os resultados desse processo conduziram uma criação coreográfica em larga escala com um grupo de jovens do Colégio, acompanhada por esse memorial reflexivo-crítico de criação. / I propose a reflection about the choreographic practice in dance with a specific community: the secondary school students from Colégio Estadual Júlio de Castilhos, Porto Alegre – RS. Investigating an institutional, public and scholar context, my study object focuses on the body as social and dancing inscription, studying and articulating choreographic procedures with large groups. I try to understand the choreography especially as a political act and as theorization of identity - corporeal, individual, and social (FOSTER, 2011), as well as understand it as a possible catalyst in the proposal for imagine the social body as dancing body, and vice versa. For this practical project, I choose procedures related to urban dances, and especially the Hip Hop Dance by keeping as main references national studies, Rodrigues (2006), Ribeiro and Cardoso (2011), and foreign studies, Faure Marie-Carmen Garcia (2002, 2003, 2005). Ethnographic aspects, as the photographic resource, are thought of as observation method over the body and gesture of the students, taking as supports the concepts of capital, habitus and field (Bourdieu, 1994). The transposition of sociological concepts to the field of contemporary dance has been tried to feed the reflections that understand the body and its social power relations and belongings. I point out as reference authors like Sylvia Faure (2001), Helen Thomas (2003), Pierre-Emmanuel Sorignet (2004) and Suzane Weber da Silva (2010). As a research method I choose the grounded theory (STRAUSS; CORBIN, 1990; PAILLÉ 1994). The results of this process have led a choreographic creation on a large scale with a group of young students of the College, accompanied by this reflective-critical memorial of creation.

As a choreographer working with new media technologies, I recognised a need to develop choreography informed by the digital age. This study was framed by the development of the dance project Ada, over three stages through a qualitative, interdisciplinary process. Artistic practice as research grounded in task based choreographic processes led to the following areas of significance in the study, those being; enacting a narrative, physicalising interactivity, performing virtual dance, and choreographing through a digital perspective. Findings that enunciated the evolution of newmedia choreographic forms and structures arose from reflective practice, dialogue with participants and feedback from a live audience.

Professional dance companies which reflect a Christian worldview are slowly emerging within the dance community, but this is territory which is generally uncharted academically, especially in Australia. Consequently, this paper is an ethnographic study of an Australian professional dance company of this kind. ask dance theatre is a professional dance company located in Sydney. Established in February 1999, it has three key personnel - Phillippa-Oakden Patch (artistic director/ choreographer/dancer), Hannah Horsley Cooper (choreographer/dancer) and Steve Cooper (composer/musician). Developing a philosophy based on a biblical worldview, one of the company's aims is to provide a &quotnurturing environment for artists of different disciplines to grow artistically and spiritually while creating dance theatre works". This has involved working collaboratively, incorporating dancers, singers, musicians, visual artists and actors, to create original works which have been performed at major contemporary dance and Christian arts events in New South Wales, Australia. Through the ethnographic methods of participant observation, interviewing and document analysis, details of this company's worldview as a group of &quotcommitted Christians" and their creative process was researched. This paper focuses on the description, analysis and interpretation of their creative process in the production of a new work during the first six months of 2001, identifying how their Christian worldview is reflected in their creative process.