Comfort Food: Telling Our Story Through Dance, Voice, and Memory
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
Danae McWatt
Committee Member
Claire Porter
Abstract
Comfort Food: Telling Our Story Through Dance, Voice, and Memory explores how the body carries history, memory, and essence across generations through a 20-minute solo performance honoring the elders in my family. Structured in sections, the work weaves recorded interviews with family members, particularly the women in my family, into the choreography, forming the foundation of the soundscore and guiding movement material. Driven by the questions, “What is left behind that is tangible for future generations to know?” and “How can one’s essence be felt and understood even after they are gone?,” this thesis builds an embodied archive that highlights the lives, contributions, and presence of my elders while they are still here to witness and benefit from the work. These recordings are layered with culturally and personally significant music and presented within an installation-like environment designed to resemble a lived-in living room, evoking the intimacy of a grandmother’s home, creating an immersive experience for the audience. Movement generation also draws from my family cookbook, using measurements, sensory memories of taste and smell, and emotional associations tied to food traditions as choreographic tools. Serving both as a tribute and an act of preservation, this performance is an archive for future generations, telling our family’s story through my body and making visible what I carry forward.
File Format
MP4
Recommended Citation
Watson, Shaylin D., "Comfort Food: Telling Our Story Through Dance, Voice, and Memory" (2026). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1670.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1670
written thesis
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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.