Again, But Different: Everyday Action and Gesture as Choreographic Material for Performance

Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

MSU-Only Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

College/School

College of the Arts

Department/Program

Theatre and Dance

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Maxine Steinman

Committee Member

Apollinaire Scherr

Committee Member

Ryan Kasprzak

Abstract

This thesis examines the use of everyday actions and gestures as a choreographic basis for an evening-length dance concert, arguing that familiar movement can be framed, repeated, rearranged, and transformed into dance while remaining legibly connected to its everyday origins. This project works within a postmodern lineage associated with artists such as Yvonne Rainer, Trisha Brown, and Merce Cunningham, who broadened ideas about what dance could include and how choreography could be structured. Accompanying the MFA thesis concert, 'Again, But Different', performed on March 3, 2026, in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, this analysis examines how familiar actions became performance through gesture studies, task-based structures, score-based organization, structured improvisation, repetition, accumulation, audience participation, humor, and delayed recognition. Rather than positioning ordinary movement as secondary to dance, the project centers everyday action in its choreography. It demonstrates that everyday movement can sustain an evening-length work, expand what counts as dance, and provide dancers and non-dancers alike with access to choreographic thinking.

Comments

The performance video is restricted to the Montclair State University community but the PDF file of the thesis, which is located at the bottom of the screen, is available to anyone interested in reading it.

File Format

MOV

Additional Files
Cameron, Jason Final Thesis_Redacted.pdf (1438 kB)
written thesis
Click to view

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