Date of Award
2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Clark, Maribeth
Keywords
Embodiment, Contemporary Dance, Phenomenology
Area of Concentration
Performance Studies
Abstract
This thesis explores how the role of the dancer has shifted in contemporary movement systems, specifically Ohad Naharin's "movement language" Gaga. I apply Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenal notions of embodiment, subjectivity, and intersubjectivity in order to describe how Gaga training suggests a re-imagination of the dancer/choreographer and dancer/performer relationship through investigative profiles. Because Gaga is so new (it was created only twenty years ago) it has yet to be explored through an analytic or critical lens. This thesis is meant to be a jumping-off point in order to initiate a discussion on Gaga and how Gaga training re-defines the body as a site of subjectivity, rather than a vehicle of movement. In doing so, Gaga invites the dancer to be an autonomous agent, one who makes decisions and expresses aspects of her Self while moving.
Recommended Citation
Rucci, Wendy, "Ideas of Selfhood in Movement: Gaga, Subjectivity, and Embodiment in Contemporary Dance" (2013). Theses & ETDs. 6839.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/6839
Rights
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