Date of Submission

Spring 2015

Academic Programs and Concentrations

Dance

Project Advisor 1

Peggy Florin

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College.
To improvise dance is to generate movement from a stream of consciousness, referencing, or sourcing, from human anatomy, awareness, culture, history, language, memory, politics, and/ or written text, to name a few. There are numerous source options! I find myself most interested in the relationship between improvisational movement and memory. By sourcing from memory, I hope to re-experience and develop memories from my past and therefore, learn more about myself. The particular perspective of self that I discuss here, a self defined by personal experience, is what I refer to as the historical body. By improvising, I am operating in a stream of consciousness, reflecting on my body and mind. I am curious whether the body’s physical sensation can spark and be sparked by past memories and experiences. How does the body store trauma, ecstasy, discomfort, and comfort? How do we begin defining ourselves by our experiences? I am interested in developing as many questions as I can from reading and reflecting on what I find and what I already know. I want to explore the unknown and dig deep into memory and past experiences. Our five senses – touch, smell, sound, sight, taste, plus the all important sixth kinesthetic sense – trigger memories. Memories become stronger every time they are revisited. This is the reason I improvise: to move in relationship to my memories, my senses, and my experience.

Open Access Agreement

On-Campus only

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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