Dance Commons^™

Vestigial Choreographies: Climate Consciousness In The Long Nineteenth Century, Alexandra A. Rego

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The aims of this project are twofold: (a) to develop a method of theoretical analysis and (b) to put this method into pointed use. In service of (a), I propose a method of choreographic analysis. This method operates relationally, highlighting the production of movement and stillness among and between bodies, objects, and encounters. Choreographic analysis draws from methods typically sequestered to dance studies. Towards aim (b), this project demonstrates the relevance and breadth of choreographic analysis by connecting it to ecocriticism. Throughout this project, I apply choreographic analysis to a diverse set of case studies. I use choreographic analysis to …

Symbolism And Choreographic Practice: Exploring The Application Of Symbolism To Dance Through The Creation Of A Solo Choreographic Work, Ruby Brazzalotto

Theses : Honours

This research project explored the significance of symbolism as a communicative tool within dance theatre. The project drew upon Symbolist theory and Pina Bausch’s choreographic approaches, in an attempt to understand how the symbolic use of props and gestural movement can communicate and elevate meaning within dance performance. This project involved the creation of a new solo dance work, self-reflexivity, and analysis of how Bausch’s and Symbolists’ modes of presenting ideas overlap. The project sought to document how symbolic props can be chosen, developed and combined with theatrical choreography to convey meaning to audiences.

Creativity Through Thought Exercises: Developing A Personal Heuristic For Choreographic Decision-Making, Jalisa R. Johnson

Dance (MFA) Theses

This thesis explores the development of a personal set of heuristics, or accessible thought tools, that can be used in choreographic or creative decision-making. Through an in-depth study of the visual art of Romare Bearden paired with an evaluation of patterns of the author’s personal history, three tools or “dials” emerge: derealization, contextuality and inversion. A close study of Bearden’s work demonstrates a pattern of repurposing and distorting ideas in ways consistent with the three dials. The author found similar patterns emerge in an excavation of her personal narrative, indicative of a cyclical and prophetic re-imagining of previous life experiences. …

Inherited Fervor: Maternal Archive, Maria Angela Talavera Tejeda

Theses and Dissertations

Inherited Fervor: Maternal Archive investigates the deconstruction of the non-verbal language of Catholic ecstasy rituals to develop a choreographic language. Through the piece Doves Don’t Fly at Night, it explores the expansion of dancers’ physical range, positioning the body as an archive that embodies memories and mirrors the audience’s humanity.

The Playground: Redefining The Artistic Experience And Expression With Technology, Meghan Hutto

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Throughout the artistic community, many creators are exploring new ways to generate innovative works for growing audiences. With the emergence of endless technology, dance makers are searching for mediums to include new lighting techniques and music composition. Across this past year, I have researched and explored new frontiers of artistic mediums to further my project’s artistic expression. By developing and investigating new systems of lighting and musical composition, I created a fifteen-minute work called “Metaphysical Mindscape”. When solidifying the through-line that carried the expression of my piece, I uncovered a piece of myself. The themes that I explored were thoughts …

Finding A Choreographic Relationship Between Music And Dance Performance, Grace Dugas

Honors Theses

The choreographic project increase emerged from a choreographic curiosity about how the relationship between dance and music can influence each other within a contemporary dance performance. The choreographer was also interested in whether or not the audience can perceive the choreomusical relationship. The exploration of literature considered the aesthetic, educational, and accessibility differences between dance and music. This is followed by a detailed exploration of related terminology and ideas that choreographers can utilize. Lastly, the literature studied how the audience can perceive the choreomusical relationship presented in a dance performance. The choreographer, with the assistance of the dancers, generated movement …

The Intersectionality Of Dance And Poetry, Isabelle Howerton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Often times, a creative work utilizes multiple creative mediums. For example, many poetry books feature visual art to enhance the original work. Dance performance is, arguably, always multidisciplinary This leaves room for many questions regarding unique ways that creative work can be developed and what sources of inspiration can be used as contributors. The final project comprises a collection of five choreographic works and five poems that correlate with each other in various ways. These five creative works were created using multiple prompts that dictated the correlation level between the two mediums. These works were then filmed to transform the …

Framing Motions: Thoughts On Proximity & Recorded Motions, With A Demonstration Using Moving Image Choreographic Documents, Jodi Kearns, Brian C. O'Connor

Proceedings from the Document Academy

A demonstration of a multifaceted documentation method for combining captured frames of dance motions, a vetted dance notation language set as closed captions, and guiding choreographer notes into a fixed form sufficiently descriptive, creative, and suitable for representing dance in a form that upgrades how legislators think about choreographic works. This demonstration is informed by historic representations of the proximities of still frames in sequence and seeks conceptual proximity to this frame-work.

Fostering Creative Bravery: Exploring Innovation Among Future Female Pioneers In Dance Through Historical Composition Studies, Marlo Daron Harris

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate if learning from the innovative methods of past female choreographers could enhance the creative abilities of today’s young high school female dancers and dance-makers. This thesis aimed to teach young dancers about past dance pioneers and build confidence in young women when creating dances. Women have paved the way for dance choreography and innovative techniques throughout dance history. However, today’s generation of young choreographers rely on imitating movements they witness at dance competitions and on social media such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok instead of becoming originators.

This thesis aimed to answer …

Artists On Creative Administration, Tonya Lockyer

University of Akron Press Publications

Brilliant artists share stories on artistic life and business, full of lessons we can all learn about living a creative life. Featuring the voices of thirty artists and arts workers, Artists on Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography provides first-hand accounts of creative administration in action. The book pairs big topics with actionable tactics, addressing themes like equity, activism, design thinking, leadership, collaboration, family, ethics, and care. Provocative, candid essays and interviews expand our view of what creativity and leadership can be, as each chapter closes with experiments for the reader to try and adapt to …

Stages: Social Dance Forms As Catalyst For Recovery, R. Austin Marquez

Theses and Dissertations

Dances originating in social settings have served as catalysts for community building, liberation, and healing for decades. Hip hop, house, krumping, voguing, and other forms of dance have empowered communities in their struggle against oppressive forces and have subsequently become influential in media based popular culture. This research explores how social dance forms promoting empowerment are popularized through mediated culture and how this process informed the creation of Austin Marquez's MFA thesis, "STAGES.""STAGES" is an interdisciplinary performance that integrates Marquez's album and choreography to explore his recovery from alcoholism. This study investigates how choreographing narratives of recovery using social dance …

The Alexander Technique Applied To Dance And The Choreographic Process: Freeing Physical Expression From Trauma-Based Tension, Julia Johnston

Senior Honors Theses

Ballet, contemporary, and modern dancers have expressed incurring trauma during their training and professional dance experiences; in a 2020 survey, 41% of professional dancers and 30% of ballet students reported experiencing or witnessing sexually inappropriate behavior in their respective workplaces and schools (DDP). This is just one example of a potential source of trauma for dancers. The physiological effects of trauma cause physical effects, creating tension in a dancer’s body. Dance relies on physical expression, the expression of thought and feeling through movement, to connect with the audience. Trauma-based tension inhibits a dancer’s range of physical expression and connection to …

An Icosahedron For Two: A Many-Sided Look At Making A Duet, Colleen T. Wahl

LASER Journal

The space around our bodies is not empty or neutral. In fact, the space around our bodies is loaded with meaning and important. When we move through it, whether it be in our daily lives or a choreographer making specific choices in order to convey a message, we activate new understandings in our lives. As a dancer and choreographer, I created a duet from improvisational climbs on an icosahedron. This article discusses choreographing from the form icosahedron and connects Laban's theories of space harmony with the activation of meaning in my life.

Integrating Creative Writing And Dance - A Reflective Collection, Grace Becker

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This project highlights my dual artistic experiences in dance and creative writing throughout my time at WKU through a portfolio website, where all my work will be available in one place. In this project, I showcase the progression of my writing throughout my undergraduate career. This portfolio includes reflections on each piece. As a writer and dancer, I have learned that skills in both art forms enhance productivity in each area. This project allowed me to reflect on my progress as a writer, dancer, and choreographer, and look forward to how I will continue this integration in my professional career.

Exploring Storytelling In Dance: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Choreography, Sophia Jones

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Storytelling in dance poses a subjective challenge. The lack of concrete guidelines for choreography can create a discrepancy between what is considered successful dance across different genres. This research aims to address this issue by examining the role of space and energy in storytelling and their intersections through genres such as tap, modern, and dance film. Through an analysis of my choreographic works including 777, Memento Mori, Vivid Connections, and Portrait, this study investigates how common choreographic elements contribute to narrative effectiveness.

This study explores the utilization of compositional tools and their application across various genres to convey each piece’s …

The Man From Figueras, Chris Burnside

The Man from Figueras

Chris Burnside is an artist/choreographer who was inspired to tell stories on stage after seeing performance artist Spalding Gray at an international theater festival in the early 1980s. After retirement and with the encouragement of a lifelong friend, Mr. Burnside started writing some of those stories down, eventually including others. The stories in The Man from Figueras focus on learning experiences, aha moments, and events that have, over the years, changed his perspective and shaped how he has lived his life. The ninety stories are in chronological order and are grouped by the eight decades of his life.

Burnside attended …

Gloria Rehearsal (Excerpt) A Feminist Mechanism For Metabolization, Eleanor Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Weaving embodied trauma studies with feminist theory, non-hierarchical creative structures, and research in dance improvisation, this thesis paper written by Eleanor Smith contextualizes the dance performance gloria rehearsal (excerpt). The performance piece was choreographed and performed by Molly Lieber and Eleanor Smith, who have been co-choreographing feminist dances since 2006.

Navigating Gifted Pathways, Ashley Rosenthal

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Programs for gifted students have been used to identify and advance youth who show talent and academic potential in their academics for years. These programs separate the course load for gifted students from the typical education of their peers and allow them to further explore knowledge with advanced and accelerated work programs that manage the pace, content, and applications of their intelligence and talents. This research project investigates what it means to be a gifted student, how these students are identified, what the mental health trends of burnout are, the social-emotional relationships between peers, and how gifted students later bridge …

Where I Belong: Four Dancers On What They Bring Into Leadership Roles, Kate Mattingly

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

The article discusses dancers on what they bring into leadership roles which include Kiyon Ross, the associate artistic director for Pacific Northwest Ballet, Clifton Brown, assistant director at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Helanius J. Wilkins, associate director of dance in the Department of Theatre & Dance at University of Colorado. Topics include Ross's first foray into choreography in 2005; Brown on how Dancers are being heard; and Wilkins on leadership role in dance.

The Reality Of Bipolar Disorder: A Dance Film To Bring Awareness To The Misconceptions Of Mental Health, Julia Woolums

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

For my project, I researched bipolar disorder to create a dance film highlighting the associated symptoms and emotions of hypomanic and depressive episodes. The purpose of this research is to bring awareness to and educate on the reality of these mental health symptoms to reduce mental health stereotypes and stigma. I researched academic texts and peer-reviewed articles about bipolar disorder written from the perspective of those diagnosed with it and used the symptom criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to compose, choreograph, film, and edit my dance film. The completed film showcases what daily life could …

The Old One And La Mer, Karter Tod Bernhardt

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

The Creation Of Choreography For Disney's High School Musical, John Greer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree in musical theatre. It is a detailed account of author John Greer’s artistic process of creating the choreography for Disney’s High School Musical as a part of Minnesota State University, Mankato’s mainstage theatre season in the fall of 2022. The thesis chronicles the choreographer’s artistic process from pre-production through performance in five chapters: a preproduction analysis, an historical and critical perspective, a rehearsal journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

Movement As A Way Of Knowing Earth: An Ecosomatic Approach To Developing Movement Choices, Brittany Tolbert

Honors Theses

The senior choreographic project The Spirit of Gaia aims to not only build awareness for individuals about the impact humans have on the climate crisis but also to inspire change in the way in which humans utilize movement practices for the benefit of Earth. As a creative process based in somatic exploration and a performance contingent on a live audience, The Spirit of Gaia exists as a living moment of dance. Acknowledging the power movement has to be the progenitor of a larger environmental consciousness and an eco-friendly change on the individual level, the dance acts as a means of …

Steadfast: Connections Fostered Through Dance, Lily Mckenzie

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Steadfast is an expression of dance as an emotional and spiritual experience, as well as an exploration of the deep connections that may be fostered through the art form of dance. My personal experience, which will function as inspiration for this choreographic piece and performance, has led me to see dance as a means to connect with God when used as worship and a way to connect with other people and form meaningful relationships. Through the production and execution of this performing art, I hope to explore and experience these aspects of dance as well as my own personal journey. …

Reflections: Battling Body Image As A Dancer, Erika Shaffer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Reflections is a dance I choreographed and performed on February 25, 2022 in studio 205 Campus Center Building at East Tennessee State University. The dance explores the relationship between a dancer’s mind and body and uses mirrors and repetition to express the dancers’ perception of their flaws and insecurities. The following thesis, Reflections: Battling Body Image as a Dancer, analyzes the artistic elements of the choreographic process, my experiences as a dance student at ETSU from 2018-2022, as well as my training in my youth. My research for this thesis involves exploring the history and craft of choreography including the …

Traces: Embodied Ephemera From Here To There, Alice Svetic

Dance (MFA) Theses

This thesis work explores contemporary queer dance making through the concept of ephemera - what is left after performances "end." Taking heavy inspiration from José Esteban Muñoz's Cruising Utopia: the then and there of queer futurity, the research situates one young queer dance maker’s own past, present, and future choreographies as a site for the extraction of queer embodied experience. The textual and written research culminates in a gallery installation which houses a series of vignettes that act as preserved documents of these queer performance histories. The live performance calls the alive, dancing body into the conversation of the ephemeral. …

Cultural, Political, And Choreographic Developments Of Feminism In Classical Ballet, Lydia Mariya Wirth

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This thesis was an exploration of how the female ballerina can be better represented in the culture, aesthetics, and politics of ballet. Despite the patriarchal and misogynistic traditions that this artform is steeped in, women have made significant strides in reclaiming ballet as a tool of female empowerment, rather than of suppression or objectification. A disparity of leadership positions, a traditionally disempowering training system, misogynistic ballet narratives, and patterns of abuse and harassment all combine to create a world which disempowers female dancers on multiple levels. Despite these realities, women have been at the forefront of narrowing wage and opportunity …

Using College Student Learning Experiences And Outcomes To Guide Teaching Modifications In A General Education Choreography Course: An Action Research Study, Kristy Kuhn Donnelly

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to gain an understanding of the learning experiences and outcomes of 12 undergraduates enrolled in Creative Dance, a general education choreography course, in Fall 2019 and the teaching strategies and practices that guided their learning. Research questions that guided this study were: what does student work reveal about their learning and the teaching strategies that guide their learning? and what curricula and teaching changes will more effectively facilitate student learning processes and stronger outcomes? Qualitative data included standard instructional materials created for and utilized in the course and students’ choreographic and written …

En Croix: A Choreographic Study Of Translation, Gillian T. Ebersole, Kristin Smiarowski

Honors Thesis

This thesis, entitled “En Croix,” began in Paris as a choreographic exploration of my struggle to reconcile my feminist and queer identity with my Roman Catholic upbringing. The strictness of my conservative religious background became an entry point to choreography, enabling me to create a solo with movements based on the Sign of the Cross—up, down, side, side. After returning to Los Angeles, I translated the choreography from the first solo into a second, breaking open the precise patterns and structures from solo one, and adding improvisation as a choreographic device; then, I completely abandoned the form of …

Ursinus Dance Program: American College Dance Association Conference, March 4-7, 2020, Kevin Harris Ii, Chelsea Stitt

Theater and Dance Presentations

Ten students and two faculty members of the UC Dance Program attended the Mid-Atlantic North regional conference of the American College Dance Association (ACDA) from March 4-7, 2020, at the University of Maryland, at College Park, MD. While at the conference, students performed in two dance works, participated in dance classes, and networked with dancers in peer institutions. A highlight of the event was the selection of Visiting Dance Professor Bailey Anderson’s dance, Ridiculous Rigor: Past, Present, and Possible, for the Gala performance. Included in this document are descriptions of the Student Achievement in Research and Creativity Committee Grants awarded …