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The politics and poetics of choreography the dancing body in South African dance

This mini-thesis is situated in the discourse on patriarchy, nationhood and its artistic forms. It is argued that an uncritical pursuit of commonality as a political aesthetic strategy for dance in South Africa repeats the metaphysical foundationalism of this discourse. It is further suggested that a postmodern ethos subverts this heritage, while at the same time offering a viable alternative for accommodating and representing the cultural diversity and plurality characteristic of current theatre dance in South Africa. Chapter One examines the way dance has historically structured its patriarchal form the postmodern discourses Chapter Two as a site and practice through explores the potential of deconstruction and destabilisation of this dance heritage. This chapter also assesses the relevance of a postmodern alternative in a South African dance context. Chapter Three analyses the postmodern choreographic strategies of two South African choreographers, Gary Gordon and Robyn Orlin, in order to reveal how their dance vision to patriarchal aesthetic form and offers an uncritical alternative notions of commonality. In conclusion, it is argued postmodern ethos embodied in the work that the of these choreographers provides viable directions for formulating and articulating new dance directions for theatre dance in South Africa while, at the same time, bearing witness to the diversity that will always structure expressions of commonality in South African dance.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:2138
Date January 1995
CreatorsFinestone, Juanita
PublisherRhodes University, Faculty of Humanities, Drama
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis, Masters, MA
Format91 leaves, pdf
RightsFinestone, Juanita

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