Dance Commons^™

Hame, Russell Clarke

Dance (MFA) Theses

Researcher Russell Clarke contemplates the need for human belonging, looking into ways that human belonging shows up in the contemporary world. Clarke explores the interconnection between his identity and memories from his childhood along with exploring his life’s journey of searching for belonging. He focuses his research on main themes throughout his life that have influenced his need to belong: family, migration, dance, and his connection to the outdoors. Growing up in Scotland and later migrating to America, Clarke found his relationship with his family and dance as constant threads entangling and influencing his life—the call of his homeland is …

Dancers Of The Book: Yemenite, Persian, And Kurdish Jewish Dance, Quinn Bicer

Anthós

Despite the cultural significance of dance in Jewish communities around the world, research into Middle Eastern Jewish dance outside of the modern nation-state of Israel is sorely under-researched. This article aims to help rectify this by focusing on Yemenite, Persian/Iranian, and Kurdish Jewish dance and explores how these dancers have functioned and been received within the societies they have been a part of. The methods that have gone into this article are a combination of analyzing primary source recorded dances and existing secondary source research into the dance of these communities. Through these methods, this article reveals how Yemenite, Iranian, …

Soul Furnace / فرن الأرواح, Isa Ghanayem

Masters Theses

“This is the good washing, this is (the washing) which separates the dirty body from the pure body. This is like silver mixed with lead, it is separated from it by this (process): one makes for it a cupel of bones, which is what is called the “head of the dog” and of which the common name is kūja-which is the crucible—and this must be made of burnt bones. One melts the silver in it, one gives it a strong fire: the cupel will absorb and receive the lead, the fire will make its subtle (part) fly away and extirpate …

A Poetically Embodied Out-Of-Body Experience, Natalie Sunseri

Honors Theses

The choreographic project Euphoric Dysphoria emerged as a response to the choreographer’s gender dysphoria and personal observations about the way that feminine-presenting people are perceived and approached in dance spaces, particularly in comparison to masculine-presenting people. The dance originated as a choreographic exploration of extreme femininity and masculinity, and it evolved into a manifestation of performative gender and experiential gender. The choreographer was guided by her poem “Uneven Envy” when developing movement and building relationships among the dancers. She considered the contributions of Judith Butler, a scholar who writes about gender manifesting in the body due to socialization, and Laura …

Dance/Movement Therapy Used As An Intervention To Heal Racial Trauma Within The Black Community: A Literature Review, Jennifer Noboise

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The history of dance within the black community has served an important role while living through a racist and discriminatory society. Dance has been used to express anger, grief, and joy during hardships and moments of rejoicing from the black experience. African American people have endured years of trauma and abuse from oppressive systems. Research has been conducted to demonstrate that dance/movement therapy has been effective in treating those who have experienced a form of trauma since the trauma is stored in the body. Examining trauma symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and substance use, the research found these symptoms diminished …

Eco-Interoception: What Plants, Fungi And Protista Have Taught My Body, Sara Riley Dotterer

Art Theses and Dissertations

To me, ecology is the relational, full-body awareness that I am made up of and deeply connected to everything around me; and for better or worse, this is reciprocal. I form ecotones, an ecological transitional zone between two ecosystems, with the world around me. I use this ecotonal lens to blur binaries and dissolve boundaries between me and the world “outside my body.” During my Masters of Fine Arts at Southern Methodist University, I have continuously explored and represented the lives of various more-than-human species outside of my body, including plants, fungi and protista through an ecotonal lens. Although these …

Spring Dance Concert, Jennifer Backhaus, Liz Curtis

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

The Mental Side-Effects Of Commercial Dance, Katie Carnaroli

Honors College Theses

This research evaluates the spectrum between mental adversities and mental triumphs that commercial dancers face within the four professional settings of auditions, training, rehearsals, and performances. As a senior commercial dance major at Pace University, I have found myself in many facets of the dance industry within my four years of higher education wondering how certain environments either took away or fueled my love for dance. I sought to conduct a Qualtrics survey that was completed by college dance majors and professional dancers expressing their experiences of the positive and negative connotations of the mental grit that is required of …

A Qualitative Case Study Of The Role Of Reflective Practices In Pre-Service Dance Teachers' Development Of Pedagogical Content Knowledge And Critical Consciousness, Josey Marie Pickett

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative case study investigates the ways stakeholders in a senior/seminar teaching practicum construct and engage in reflection. It also explores the ways these modes of reflection intersect with pre-service dance teachersâ?? development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and critical consciousness (CC). Specifically, the study contributes to the minimal amount of literature on the use of reflective practices in dance teacher education by using the theoretical framework of reflection-in-action and embodiment to bring greater attention to the informal, social, dialogical, and embodied dimensions of teaching and learning. Themes identified related to pre-service dance teachersâ?? development of PCK and CC in …

Heteronormativity: How Dance Movement Therapy Can Change The Narrative Around The Societal Norms And Expectations Created Around Sexuality And Gender, Aaron Tonaki

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Heteronormativity, defined as the societal norms and expectations around sexuality and gender has an immense impact on individuals who do not identify with the norms set in place. Heteronormativity is enforced from early childhood where eventually individuals who do not identify as “straight” or cisgender develop several mental health disorders due to feelings such as exclusion and invalidation. Both medical and mental health care becomes a barrier for these individuals because health care providers do not have the skills or tools necessary to treat LGBTQ individuals. The stigma created by society around the LGBTQ community has enforced a need to …

Coming Home: Grief Through The Lens Of Dance/Movement Therapy, Lauren Marcus

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

Grief has always been part of the human experience and stands “at the intersection of attachment and separation, of love and loss.” This paper examines the history of grief within psychiatric and psychological frameworks to uncover how we have come to understand and process the nature of grief and how we can incorporate body-based interventions into the grieving experience. The role of the body remains at the heart of the grieving process; however, this has been overlooked in the literature (Fuchs, 2017). Many of the foundational psychological theories on grief center around the process of grief being cognitive and lack …

The Hero's Journey In Dance/Movement Therapy: Answering The Call By Entering Experiences Through The Doorway Of Awe, Rachel Alford

Dance/Movement Therapy Theses

The hero’s journey tells the story of an ordinary person leaving their known life, setting out on an adventure into the unknown to fulfill a quest, and returning to their known world with some form of gift for their society. This storyline can be traced throughout myths and legends across time and cultures and is still used in current books and films to this day. The hero’s journey can also be traced throughout the course of an average person’s life and can be entered into at any time as the person encounters and overcomes trials to develop self-trust and resiliency …

Frameworks Concert, Amanda Kay White

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

Dance And The Self: An Analysis On The Psychological Impacts Of Dance, Morgan Etzinger

Honors Projects

Professional dancers spend numerous hours immersed into dance culture every single day, learning new technique, practicing choreography, and exercising to stay fit. This study explores how dance affects the self-confidence and self-esteem of dance students. Utilizing surveys, the self-confidence and self-esteem of dance students at BGSU is compared to non-performing arts students. The study of psychology allows for proper analysis on the differences between the two groups, why a difference might occur, and how self-confidence and self-esteem is affected. After gathering data on emotions, perfectionism, comparison, group versus individual performances, personal thoughts, and body image, it was found that dancers …

Reflections: A Meditation On Ballet And Pain, Claire Madeline Silverman

Honors Theses

The defining details of the character of Giselle are that she loves to dance even though she knows it could kill her (for she has a frail heart), and that she is in love with a peasant boy named Loys, though she knows her mother dislikes him. She is defiant, determined to follow her desires.

Giselle wasn’t one of the ballets that stuck out to me when I was younger. I loved the Tchaikovsky ballets — Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker — and later Romeo and Juliet (Macmillan’s version) became my favorite. Giselle existed at my periphery. It’s …

Mary Grace Geise Bfa Graduating Presentation, Mary Grace Geise

Honors Theses

The Bathers takes inspiration from the late 19th-century impressionist painter Paul Cézanne and his series of paintings known as Bathers. Cézanne believed in the harmony between art, emotion, and nature. This piece explores the healing powers of nature and how it reflects the human experience, beauty, ugliness, and inner peace. The Bathers endure a journey to rebirth by ways of nature, traversing through moments of desertion, cleansing, surrender, ecstasy, and freedom.

Paige Mulick Bfa Dance Graduating Presentation, Paige Mulick

Honors Theses

Paige Mulick’s Graduating Presentation/Honors Thesis was created to be a piece that explored recurring dreams and built a dream on stage. Mulick developed this piece beginning with a concept, auditioning dancers, developing choreography, designing costumes, developing a lighting design, and rehearsing the piece for multiple months before it was performed on stage. As supporting research for this choreographic project, Mulick drew on her personal experiences, the experiences of her dancers, and readings from texts about the science and history of dreams. In addition to her work in choreography, Mulick took on the roles of Production Coordinator and Schedule Coordinator for …

Personifying Inanimate Objects: A Study Through Movement, Delainey Bailey, Tricia Zweier

2023 Student Academic Showcase

This project explores how inanimate objects can be personified through movement. The chosen item for this work, a kaleidoscope, inspired many of the gestures, energies, and expressions for this original piece of choreography that premiered in the Lindenwood University Winter 2022 Dance Concert. My poster presentation will highlight many components of the kaleidoscope that were used as inspiration in this piece: the colors, patterns, shapes, and pathways. This work, titled “Kaleidoscope,” is centered around eight dancers that travel through circular pathways in a colorful ambiance to find contentment in the perfect patterns of the kaleidoscope. Each of their journeys are …

Spring Dance Concert (April 20-22, 2023), Lindenwood University

Student Dance Programs

Program for the Spring Dance Concert.

29th Annual Roger Williams University School Of Law Barrister's Ball 2-11-2023, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.