Somatic Awareness and Meaning-Making in Choreography
Date of Award
5-2020
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
Kathleen Kelley
Committee Member
Julia Burrer
Committee Member
Kim Whittam
Abstract
In my creative research culminating in my MFA thesis work, XX, I argue that meaning in dance choreography is made and perceived as a result of the somatic attention of the choreographer and the embodiment of the performer. I examine how my extensive training in the Gaga Movement Language informs my movement and choreographic practice, and how its focus on bodily sensation contributes to meaning-making. I explore the connections between sensation and phenomenology, empathy and qualitative dynamics, and the pull between abstraction and representation in dance work. I argue that because cognition is based on our interaction with the world through our physical forms, our bodies are vital for communication and understanding, translating ideas, and responsible for our affective responses to aesthetic experiences.
File Format
MP4
Recommended Citation
Schnurr, Candice, "Somatic Awareness and Meaning-Making in Choreography" (2020). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 503.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/503
PDF file of 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.