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Non-Attachment in the Creative Process

abstract: This ethnographic research focuses on the specific creative processes of one dance-maker who worked collaboratively with seven dancers, a sound designer, a costume designer, and a narrative speaker. Together they created an evening-length dance work entitled "The Now Creature." Throughout the creative process, the dance-maker was interested in noticing attachments, finding freedom from these attachments, and being aware of how the work was affected by the choice to detach or remain attached to certain ideas. This interest stemmed from the dance-maker/researcher's interest in Buddhist philosophy and a system of decision-making she had been developing since childhood. The creative process for "The Now Creature" began with experiments in chance procedures as a method of non-attachment. After the first public showing of the piece, the process shifted to include intuition and aesthetic integration. "Embodied nowness," or the awareness of one's physical and mental sensations in the present moment, played an important role in rehearsals and in the overall process of letting go of attachments. All collaborators kept journals and were usually given specific prompts about which to write. The researcher/dance-maker also conducted one-on-one verbal interviews and group discussions with the collaborators. These data informed the development of the work presented on January 31-February 2 at Arizona State University, Findings from this research can be applied to any kind of creative process, or any life situation that includes decision-making. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.F.A. Dance 2014

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:asu.edu/item:25148
Date January 2014
ContributorsStein, Denise A. (Author), Vissicaro, Pegge (Advisor), Kaplan, Robert (Committee member), Fonow, Mary Margaret (Committee member), Arizona State University (Publisher)
Source SetsArizona State University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeMasters Thesis
Format62 pages
Rightshttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/, All Rights Reserved

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