Four Quartets is a series of four poems by British poet T.S. Eliot that explores themes of life, love, and spirituality. The poems abstractly follow the journey of life in different phases, with recurring motifs of time, dance, cyclicity, and death.As an Indian Classical dancer, I am keenly interested in Eliot’s lifelong connections with both early Modern dance and Indian spirituality, and am eager to investigate the manifestation of these connections in his writings. Specifically, I recontextualize the motif of spirituality in Indian Classical dance forms, particularly Odissi, and define the term “still point” through multiple contexts, including linguistics, dance, and mysticism to inform my choreographic process. Through my research and choreography, I explore the themes of dance and spirituality which are embedded in Eliot’s work and visualize them through the media of Indian Classical and Contemporary dance.

My research was an investigation of what creates catharsis in dance. I wanted to know: how and why does dance move people? What are the qualities in contemporary dance that lead to a cathartic experience for the viewer? This required an analysis of philosophies related to: dance and its purpose, choreographic aesthetic involving emotion as a driving force, and the nature of catharsis in art. With an ensemble of undergraduate dance majors from UC Irvine, I implemented various methods and ideologies I had gathered, in an effort to choreograph work that would move an audience. I chose choreographic themes based on emotions that could be universally relatable, and in order to convey these emotions, I coached, directed, and taught movement to dancers who would perform my choreography. This process culminated in a thirty-minute work, entitled, What Remains. I kept a record of my choreographic process, comparing and contrasting my methods and their effectiveness in extracting a certain level of expressiveness from the twelve young adult dancers performing my work. After the work was performed, I reflected on what had transpired on stage, as well as feedback from audience members.

This thesis research project is comprised of a written document, documentary film, and choreographic work. The written research examines the role of international service-learning within higher education dance programs and how such opportunities abroad build a sense of civic responsibility within undergraduate dance students. This project is looking into how and if international service learning in the arts develops personal agency to create change in one’s own community as well as internationally. The research was conducted by taking twelve undergraduate students to Panama with the education organization Movement Exchange to teach dance in orphanages as well as the National University of Panama. Movement Exchange is a non-profit organization dedicated to building civic engagement and cross-cultural exchange within the dance community. The documentary film and choreographic work were presented together at the University of California, Irvine on April 2 and 3, 2015 in the William Gillespie Performance Studio 1100. The presentation consisted of a documentary film entitled Youth in Movement and a ten-minute choreographic work entitled Reflecciones. The documentary followed the process of the movement exchange to Panama through the lens of the undergraduates who participated in the program, and the choreographic work represented their movement reflections from their experience.

The supporting research paper contained herein examines the themes of civic engagement, service-learning, and international dance practices as they relate to the Movement Exchange in Panama. A common finding from the exchange in Panama was an understanding and embodiment of community through dance. The findings of the research draw upon Victor Turner’s notion of “communitas” to reflect upon the shared human experiences had through dance with the students in Panama. Connections are made between Turner’s writings on “communitas” and the observations of the undergraduates’ experience in Panama.

This research explores ways in which dancers can become more aware of their environment in order to make more intentional choices as they interact with the world. I questioned results of disconnection between mind, body, and environment, and whether the relationship between our inner selves and outer world is relevant in the process of perception. I explored the fields of embodied cognition and somatics to create a movement practice that would expand one’s awareness. I worked with seven dance majors at the University of California, Irvine to implement five phases of my research. The first four phases consisted of prompts that led dancers in embodiment exercises, followed by reflection through written journal entries and drawings. The fifth phase of the method culminated in a dance concert to showcase the work done in the first four phases and to explore choice-making in the context of performance. Throughout the practice period, dancers expressed feelings of overall increased embodiment and connection, and discovered a greater ability to utilize agency as they became aware of more possibilities for interacting with the environment. Further time will be needed to continue developing and refining the practice framework.

The enhancement of life skills can be a significant part of an educational foundation upon which dance students can enhance ownership of their learning. Utilizing experiential and active learning theories in the design of a course, students can become active participants in the learning process. This research considers the purpose of education, a historical overview of some of the founding thinkers on experiential education, the learning process, and the different yet synergistic roles of the student and the educator. The study included seven undergraduate dance majors from the University of California, Irvine, lasted ten weeks, and investigated the development of life skills and their correlation to educational ownership through the creative process in choreography. The findings of this research demonstrate the growth of the participants not only as students and lifelong learners, but also as choreographers. There was increased development of their awareness of their individual learning styles, successful collaboration with their peers, and increased ability to use their knowledge in one area to help in others and an increased level or awareness of how they learn as individuals.

In this thesis research, a framework for investigating creativity is established through existing literature in the field of psychology, interviews with practicing choreographers and the development of choreography for live theater. Creativity, types of creativity, and stages of creative problem solving are defined and a comparison between these definitions is identified in relation to phases of the choreographic process. This research includes researcher observations and interviews with nine choreographers currently residing in the Southern California region. Through the interview process, information regarding their creative processes and methods for generating movement material and structuring movement into choreographies is collected and examined for greater understanding toward creativity and the choreographic process. The research also includes a description of my own experience working with different methods to create four new dance works for a live audience. Through journals and reflections on my choreographic process, I begin to explore how different choreographic methods affect my perception of my own creativity and the outcome of each new work. The focus of this thesis is to gain a greater understanding of how choreographers define and demonstrate creativity in the choreographic process.

The legacy of American modern dance is one of change and innovation. Since the turn of the twenty-first century, modern dance training has evolved by incorporating many new contemporary styles. Through this thesis research, I explore the relevance of classical modern dance techniques in the training of contemporary dance students. My research examines some of the significant historical factors which some dance scholars have claimed as driving forces for the creation and development of American modern dance up to this current time.

The relevance of classical modern dance technique was determined through interviews with university dance educators, modern dance répétiteurs, and notable modern and contemporary choreographers. The research culminated in a dance concert performance created for the purpose of reflecting on influencing factors stemming from my own classical modern dance training and their influence on my choreographic process as a contemporary creator.

Ebb and Floorwork is a movement philosophy that investigates an active search for the flow experience through a movement floorwork aesthetic. By implementing and modeling the primary use of the floor after Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s conditions of flow my research asks: how does floorwork lead to a state of flow and enhance a dancer’s training, how do different movement modalities help find effortlessness (a familiar sensation of flow), and does instilling a state of flow enhance the ability to do floorwork? This research is driven from my observations of many collegiate dancers having a disconnected relationship with the floor. My aim is to underscore how floorwork trains and stimulates a full body and mind activation, requiring dancers to be sensitive in the present moment and highly aware of their movement choices. It is in the flow state that I feel paves the way for dancers to be grounded, leading to optimal performance both in body and mind. Although the flow experience is subjective, Ebb and Floorwork gives a platform for dancers to deliberately find their own flow experience so that there is more room for conscious decisions and less stress as they perform.

ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

Devising Dance Theatre

By

Robyn C. O’Dell

Master of Fine Arts in Dance

University of California, Irvine, 2019

Dr. Lisa Naugle, Chair

This research explores devised theatre approaches in efforts to teach and enhance the skills for contemporary modern dance students to participate in a collaborative, cross disciplinary style of performance making. Devised theatre is a contemporary theatre approach which derived from a desire to create collaboratively designed theatre and to challenge the hierarchal western theatre traditions. Collaborative approaches to theatre and dance can be traced throughout the twentieth century, with roots to post-modern dance and feminist collective theatre movements.

The training of many contemporary modern dance students is often focused on the traditional solo artists paradigm, with little emphasis on creative collaboration, although many professional contemporary choreographers do create work within a collaborative construct. As theatre, dance, and the visual arts continue to traverse and intersect with each other, practitioners grow increasingly more interested in working in a collaborative, cross disciplinary process.

Investigating my own choreographic interests to create dance theatre works, I used devised theatre methods in my process to help develop skills necessary for this style of performance. Through a four-month rehearsal process, six undergraduate dance students, one university staff member, and I embarked on a collaborative creative process to create an original devised dance theatre work, based on the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This process-based research resulted in a performance at the Experimental Performance Laboratory Theater at the University of California, Irvine in April of 2019.

In March 2020, the Coronavirus Pandemic began to spread rapidly worldwide, shutting down establishments, restricting physical interactions, and forcing all communication between educators and students to be mediated by technology. Evidence pre Covid-19 shows a slow incorporation of digital literacy among university dance students. But under new restrictions, for the field of Dance, online learning and virtual streaming of performances became dominant. Educators and students have become part of what appears to be a new era in dance teaching, creation, and public presentation. As the pandemic continued from weeks to months and more than a year, the importance of dance with technology has become an imperative necessity for the increased learning and communication. A new collective consciousness about digital literacy has emerged, and people in the field of dance are using new methods and embracing previously unimagined digital technology as part of the learning environment.

This thesis explores the use of portable digital devices as educational and creative tools for the expansion of 21st century dance academia and training. Investigations into previous and current methods of engaging dancers in digital literacy through the learning, development, creation, implementation, and dissemination of tech inspired movement are researched to identify newer methods of teaching dance with technology. This research furthers the ideas of integration by experimenting with the use of an autonomous robot as an (A) video monitoring tool to enhance mobility as an instructor or student in a virtual dance class setting, (B) example of robot use as an educational and creative tool for in-studio student exploration and interdisciplinary learning. As well as, (C) the programming and incorporation of AI functionalities for student choreographic projects. Findings from these experiences are then composed into a series of learning experiments including physical training exercises that may be useful for an Introduction to Robotics and Dancers Course.