In this thesis, the author claims that dance (especially improvisational dance) is a political
practice. Rather than following the familiar trope, where the dancing body stands in as a figure of
liberation, the author draws on theorists such as Michel Foucault, Pierre Klossowski, and Judith
Butler to suggest that bodies in motion are partially determined though discipline, coded
language, and norms of sex and gender. Citing empirical cases of dance performances and the
author’s own practice, she suggests that the body in motion is also partially undetermined by
cultural conventions. She extrapolates from the example of dance improvisation, where the
dancer begins with a norm or loose choreography and, from there, moves into unexpected
territory, to offer an alternative conception of the body. The author argues that bodies in motion
move between extremes of structure and freedom. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/3328 |
| Date | 30 May 2011 |
| Creators | Bosse, Maggie |
| Contributors | Kroker, Arthur |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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