This thesis approaches the personal life, artistic creation and dance technique of American dancer and choreographer Mercier Philip Cunningham. The first part focuses on the artist?s life stages during his evolution in dance from the beginnings of his choreographic work, and seeks the origins for the establishment of his own dance company ? Merce Cunningham Dance Company. A chronological overview of his extensive repertoire is also incorporated. The second part deals with collaboration, connection and interaction among the dance, music, design and film fields during the artistic work of Merce Cunningham. Following the author?s experience with Cunningham technique, the final part is directed to an understanding of this dance technique, its principles and specific elements used in contemporary dance world.

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Artes, 2014. / Submitted by Albânia Cézar de Melo (albania@bce.unb.br) on 2014-06-03T15:19:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_LinaFrazaoCastro.pdf: 3071212 bytes, checksum: 8e38a681a082e36ec3e6f9f60569a6d7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Guimaraes Jacqueline(jacqueline.guimaraes@bce.unb.br) on 2014-06-05T14:29:11Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_LinaFrazaoCastro.pdf: 3071212 bytes, checksum: 8e38a681a082e36ec3e6f9f60569a6d7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-05T14:29:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_LinaFrazaoCastro.pdf: 3071212 bytes, checksum: 8e38a681a082e36ec3e6f9f60569a6d7 (MD5) / As inovações coreográficas do norte-americano Merce Cunningham provocaram um deslocamento no olhar sobre o movimento ao romper com alguns paradigmas básicos na transição entre a dança moderna e a dança contemporânea. Como intérprete-criadora, participei do processo criativo do espetáculo “De Água e Sal” que foi uma forte referência na sistematização de uma ampliação expressiva na atuação cênica do intérprete. Adotando a percepção sensorial abordada pela Educação Somática como eixo principal de reflexão, e também a partir de Cunningham e da experiência em “De Água e Sal”, esta dissertação pretende realizar uma discussão sobre uma experimentação prática em dança, realizada na unidade curricular Práticas Corporais II, ministrada por mim para discentes do segundo semestre no curso de Licenciatura em Dança do Instituto Federal de Brasília. Nesta, aplicou-se com os alunos uma abordagem didática que visava a ampliação da percepção corporal e maiores possibilidades de exploração nas qualidades de movimento, provocando um repensar sobre a dança e promovendo uma ampliação na percepção do movimento corporal. Desenvolvido nesta dissertação, o conceito de corpo em estado de transparência surge então como um resultante situado pela evidência de um corpo que se move conectado pelas sensações e percepções, gerando um mover-se mais visceral e orgânico. ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT / The innovations of the American choreographer Merce Cunningham led to a displacement on the perspective over movement while breaking some basic paradigms in the transition between modern and contemporary dance. As interpretercreator I took part of the creative process in the show “De Água e Sal” (Of Water and Salt), which was a strong reference in the systematizing of an expressive broadening of the scenic work of the interpreter. By adopting the sensorial perception addressed by Somatic Education as the main axis of reflection, and also based on Cunningham and the experience with “De Água e Sal”, this dissertation aims to discuss a practical experimentation in dance accomplished in the curricular class Bodily Practices II, taught by me to second semester students from the Dance Department at the Federal Institute of Brasilia. During the class a teaching approach was applied on the students aiming to widen bodily perception and provide greater possibilities in exploring the qualities of movement, leading to rethinking dance and promoting a deautomatization of bodily perception. The concept of body in a state of transparency is the result of the evidence of a body that moves connected by sensations and perceptions, generating an authentic, visceral, and organic movement.