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This practice-led research employs choreographic and somatic practices, and their mediation through performance and/or technologies, to facilitate critical engagement and apprehension of notions of embodiment. The core concerns are movement, dance and the body, as sites of knowledge and as modes of inquiry, with particular focus on lived experience approached from a nondualist perspective. Central themes are action, attention, bodyscape, tensegrity, improvisation, interactivity, memory, language and gesture. Taking as a starting point the position that knowledge and mind may be embodied, and that the movement habits and stress markers which pattern bodyscape may in turn inform cognition, the choreographic practice seeks to illuminate, rather than explicate or demonstrate, aspects of embodiment. The methodological approaches are (en)active, heuristic and reflective. Dance, as a exemplar of movement, and choreography, as a mode of creative and critical engagement with dance, are the primary research tools. Somatic approaches to practice, performance and philosophy are investigated for their potential to develop or reveal embodied knowing and awareness. Technological mediation is employed to inform and augment perception and apprehension of the embodied experience of dance, from the perspectives of choreographer, performer and audience. The thesis comprises five dance-based performance works and a written text critically engaging the concepts behind and emergent from this praxis.

My purpose with this thesis has been to find out how to choreograph a fight sequence in ananimated movie. With the help of professional stuntmen and dancers, I have tried to findmethods and techniques used on stage and in live-action film and apply those to animatedfilms. To successfully identify the techniques used, I conducted a number of interviews andanalyzed literature that deals with the subject of fight choreography. By the analysis of themethods provided by the choreographers and selected parts of the literature, I have compiled anumber of steps I recommend 3D animators should to take in their efforts to create their ownfight choreography. / Mitt syfte med den här uppsatsen har varit att ta reda på hur man koreograferar enslagsmålssekvens i en animerad film. Med hjälp av yrkesverksamma stuntmän och dansarehar jag försökt finna metoder och tillvägagångssätt som används på scen och film ochapplicera dessa på animerad film. För att lyckas urskilja de tekniker som används genomfördejag ett antal intervjuer samt analyserade litteratur som behandlade ämnet slagsmålskoreografi.Genom att analysera de metoder som koreograferna tillhandahöll samt utvaldadelar ur litteraturen sammanställde jag ett antal steg som en 3D-animatör bör vidta iskapandet av egna slagsmålskoreografier.

This thesis investigates the intersection of physical and non-physical choreographic practices, culminating in a performed solo dance work titled Lilith. In a world increasingly consumed by virtual technology, the investigation is increasingly relevant to explore both in our personal lives and in the field of dance and choreography. This thesis examines the relationship between embodied and disembodied experiences while exploring the affect of these experiences on the mind cognitively and emotionally. In this thesis I investigate performances and written work about other choreographers’ investigations into computer-mediated methods of disembodying dance, laying the foundation for my own solo performance. Through experiential research into computer mediated-methods of altering choreography, I have explored the effect of non-physicalized ways of generating choreographic movement. I have equally investigated how a physically impulse driven movement has influenced the choreographic process. In the end, this work explores the tensional forces that lie between the physical and non-physical in a creative, choreographic process and attempts to find ways to create balance between the two. / text

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1975. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. F. A.)--Texas Woman's University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

This PhD thesis examines the way in which spectatorial relationship with certain dance works is reconfigured through emerging practices for documenting, analysing and ‘scoring’ dance, paying particular attention to the role of digital technology. I examine three central case studies, developed between 2009 and 2013, which are outcomes of major research projects, these are; Synchronous Objects for One Flat Thing, reproduced (Forsythe and OSU 2009), Using the Sky (Hay and Motion Bank 2013) and A Choreographer’s Score: Fase, Rosas danst Rosas, Elena’s Aria, Bartók (De Keersmaeker and Cvejić 2012). These ‘scores’ fall under the title of ‘choreographic objects’, a term which, following Leach, deLahunta and Whatley (2008) I use to refer to collaboratively produced, artist-­‐led objects that utilise technology in various ways, to explore and disseminate choreographic processes. Focussing on western contemporary theatre dance practices and drawing on discourses from Dance Studies, Performance Studies, Philosophical Aesthetics and Digital Theory, I consider how ‘choreographic objects’ pose philosophical questions regarding the ways in which audiences access, interpret, appreciate and value works, examining the evolving role of the score in issues of identity and ontology. I also consider the score-­‐like nature of these objects, drawing comparisons with codified movement notations, such as Labanotation, developed by Hungarian dance theorist Rudolf von Laban (1879 – 1958). The case studies pose many queries, however the central focus of this research is on three key questions; what are ‘choreographic objects’? How do they reconfigure spectatorial engagement with specific dance works? And, how does this reconfiguration encourage a rethinking of their ontological statuses? The case studies demonstrate an increased interest in the articulation, examination and dissemination of choreographic process. In recent years many artists, based primarily in Europe and the USA, such as Siobhan Davies (1950 -­‐ ), Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (1960 -­‐ ), William Forsythe (1949 -­‐ ), Emio Greco (1965 -­‐ ), Steve Paxton (1939 -­‐ ); have teamed up with researchers and technologists to develop digital, or partially digital objects which examine and articulate their choreographic processes. deLahunta (2013b) suggests that together these artists give rise to a ‘community of practice’. This is a notion formulated by Etienne Wenger (1998) to describe groups of people who are engaged in collective learning, including, for example, “a band of artists seeking new forms of expression” (Wenger 2006: 1). The shared interest in cultivating new ways to express choreographic process generates a form of community between these artists. The objects generated through these investigations are labelled ‘scores’, ‘archives’ and ‘installations’, however, each one problematises their categorical label, thus generating the rubric of ‘choreographic objects’; an emerging class of object which both crosses and defies existing modes of description. The circulation of ‘choreographic objects’ is relatively new therefore a detailed examination of their ontology, function and impact provides a significant theoretical and practical contribution to current dance discourses and practice. This research contextualises these objects, situating them socio-­‐culturally and examining the motivations and repercussions. The ontological probing considers the nature of the objects and their impact on the way we perceive and conceptualise the notion of the dance ‘work’.

Steadfast is an expression of dance as an emotional and spiritual experience, as well as an exploration of the deep connections that may be fostered through the art form of dance. My personal experience, which will function as inspiration for this choreographic piece and performance, has led me to see dance as a means to connect with God when used as worship and a way to connect with other people and form meaningful relationships. Through the production and execution of this performing art, I hope to explore and experience these aspects of dance as well as my own personal journey. I learned a vast measure about myself in my four years of college that led to the development of who I am today. This composition is meant to mirror some of the emotions that I experienced in my time of growth; however, I don’t want my piece to try to tell a story or follow a sequence of events. Instead, I hope this dance provides the audience with more of a deep, emotional, and spiritual dive into the places that my heart and soul went during this time-period. Steadfast means so much to me, and as the culminating artistic presentation in my college career, I want to use my growth as an artist and individual to display an array of emotions to the audience. The dance is a cry for help and surrender, but it also expresses the feelings of joy, love, and hope that one might feel when they make it through a valley and find themselves standing on a mountaintop. This ensuing written work is a narrative of the choreographic process and explanation of the inspiration behind the production of my thesis, Steadfast.

Siva's Dance was a project which had been in various developmental stages for many years. The work symbolized movement in the universe through the cycles of creation and destruction; where life and death give birth to one another. Siva represented the continuing thread which weaves the years and cycles together. My choreographic intention was to thread small segments together to create an ongoing and evolutionary process. None of these segments vas meant as a complete statement, rather each was a compacted and cryptic piece to be seen as a color, or word added to the whole. The wide chronological spans are intended to portray the creative and destructive cycles as an ongoing process and the chosen subject matter for each piece was purely subjective.

Develops a choreography course curriculum to be implemented and evaluated for inclusion in the Chaffey College (a community college in San Bernardino County, California) dance program. Identifies and evaluates four core developmental areas of a well-designed choreography class: (1) communicative skill development through dance composition; (2) group problem-solving creative work; (3) integration of other arts with dance; and, (4) critical evaluation skills.