Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item FLYING UP AND FALLING DOWN: QUEER PHENOMENOLOGY, CYBORGS, QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT, AND TENSEGRITY IN MATERIAL BODY 01 + PULSE: AN ANTI-DISCIPLINARY PERFORMANCE OF DANCE AND TECHNOLOGY(2024) Ford, Mary Kate; Portier, Kendra; Dance; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis examines Material Body 01 + Pulse, a live performance merging dance and technology through the lenses of queer phenomenology, cyborg embodiment, tensegrity, and quantum entanglement. By destabilizing and reimagining conventional notions of boundaries, materials, machines, symbols, and ecological systems the choreography invites audiences to engage with diverse embodiments and perceptions. The integration of elements that blur boundaries between human and machine foreground the cyborg as a site of transformation and active engagement in systemic surroundings. The choreographic manipulation of tension embodies the dynamic equilibrium of tensegrity, generating interconnectedness. Through analysis of the choreographic process, this thesis highlights how Material Body 01 + Pulse intersects contemporary dance with emergent technologies and theoretical frameworks, offering new perspectives on embodiment, identity, and spatiality in the digital era.Item ALTERNATIVE CHOREOGRAPHIES: IMMERSIVE PERFORMANCE AS A DECOLONIAL PEDAGOGICAL AND PERFORMANCE PRACTICE(2024) Padilla Garcia, Javier Ignacio; Fang, Adriane; Dance; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The research unfolds through a multidisciplinary lens, weaving together theoretical analysis, artistic creation, pedagogical exploration and performative interventions. Through “el bodegon de la bruja”, an interdisciplinary immersive dance theater performance, this thesis aims to explore alternative ways of understanding, learning, and expressing that are rooted in decolonial principles. The performance engages with diverse mediums and techniques to construct immersive environments that prompt participants to critically reflect on colonial histories and power structures. Through a series of performative acts and pedagogical interventions, the thesis seeks to demonstrate how immersive performance can serve as a conduit for decolonial praxis. The outcomes contribute to an evolving discourse on the potential of artistic and educational practices to actively dismantle colonial legacies. This work not only envisions alternative narratives but actively engages participants in co-creating knowledge, fostering a sense of empowerment, agency, and a deeper understanding of decolonialized perspectives.Item ST(ILL) SOUNDS: WAVES OF SOUND, HEALTH, AND THE CHOREOGRAPHIC PROCESS(2024) Falcon, Britney; Crawford, Samuel; Keefe, Maura; Dance; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)st(ill) sounds: waves of sound, health, and the choreographic process, explores the intersections of sound, healthcare, choreography, and dance performance. The research draws upon psychology, physical and cognitive science, visual art, technology, linguistics, and cripistemologies. Central to the research is the concept of the body as a conduit for the construction of sonic material and states of being. Through critical listening, investigations of the visual, aural, and sensorial, are ways to frame embodied consciousness, identity forming, and cultural exchange. Guided by inquiries into modes of listening and desired modes of being heard, the research unravels the interconnectedness of sound’s affect. The work of Pauline Oliveros, Nina Sun Eidsheim, Nancy Stark Smith, Stanley Keleman, and Cymatic Technology ground this research. The choreographic process is discussed through diverse frameworks and practices which include the exploration of fluid dynamics, wave phenomena, bodily landscapes, vibratory practices, and the co-emergent properties of echo as a feminist force. The research culminates in the creation of a transformative sonic experience through its contributions to performance, process, and relationality, underscored by access.Item FALL MFA DANCE THESIS CONCERT 2023: AN IMMERSIVE WORLD(2024) Jn.Baptiste, Shartoya Rochelle; Kachman, Misha; Theatre; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis seeks to describe the scenic design process for The Fall MFA Dance Thesis Concert (FMFA) choreographed by Javier Padilla and Gerson Lanza at the University of Maryland - College Park, School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies through research, documentation, photographs, and other design materials. Some of the following materials included in this thesis were used as tools to convey the scenic design to the choreographers and the production team: research images, sketches, photographs of the 1⁄4" scale white and colour models, a complete drafting packet, paint elevations, a properties list, and book. Photographs from the production and a written reflection on the design process are also included.Item CREATIVE SYSTEM INTEGRATION: BUILDING TOOLS FOR COLLABORATIVE WORKFLOW IN LIVE PERFORMANCE(2023) Williams, Mark; Mezzocchi, Jared M; Theatre; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Creative System Integration is the process of assembling systems of technology for design that supports the creative needs of a performance. In these writings, I document and reflect on the steps my collaborators and I took in two productions, “DanceXDance” and “The Late Wedding”. I examine the processes and performance objectives of these two shows with attention to how technology and the medium of media was utilized, and the advantages or limitations it presented. I explore how new technology can be leveraged to create new collaborative workspaces, new methodologies, subvert expectations about media, and improve creative agency, all while meeting the unique narrative and mediaturgical needs of each production.Item LAST DANCE, LOST DANCE: STRATEGIZING INDETERMINACY TOWARD LIVE AND EMERGENT CHOREOGRAPHIES(2023) Villanueva, Carlo Antonio Ortega; Keefe, Maura; Dance; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Last Dance, Lost Dance is a 30-minute interdisciplinary performance piece that explores the concept of indeterminacy in performance. Indeterminacy—the phenomenon of a performer making decisions during performance—is a reifying analytical perspective from which dance improvisation can be seen, applied, and understood. Instinctively directed and choreographed by Carlo Antonio Ortega Villanueva, Last Dance, Lost Dance resists the fixity of choreographic form in pursuit of relational, responsive collaborations in performance strategy and (interdisciplinarily) with theater design. To do so, Last Dance, Lost Dance reschedules choreography to include the moment of performance, through the use of improvisational strategies; and reconfigures choreography to include the design and movement of mise en scène. As a result, Last Dance, Lost Dance commands the full apparatus of the theater despite its imposed rubrics for form, beauty, and aesthetic; and its choreography emerges in real time, authored live by its performers. These experimental modes of choreography ask and dance the question: “What is the relationship between form and possibility?” This document, “Last Dance, Lost Dance: Strategizing Indeterminacy Toward Live and Emergent Choreographies,” supports and contextualizes Last Dance, Lost Dance with discussions of dance and the archive, Asian American postmodern performance, and photographic and narrative documentation of the creative research, development, and critical reflections of Last Dance, Lost Dance; it is accompanied by an archival video of the performance.Item BLACK IS HOLY: A WORD(2023) Ward, Cyrah Louise; Davis, Crystal U; Dance; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)BLACK IS HOLY: A WORD is a 30-minute multimodal performative meditation birthed at the crossroads of spirituality and sensuality. Migrating the audience through jazz worlds saturated with ancestral choreographies, storytelling, and spoken words, BLACK IS HOLY: A WORD acts as a divine medium converging the past and the present. Carefully informed by embodied practices within the Hoodoo spiritual system, BLACK IS HOLY: A WORD submerges viewers into a Black cultural landscape where the sacred and secular collide. BLACK IS HOLY: A WORD directed by Cyrah L. Ward premiered as an installation on Monday, November 14, 2022, and an embodied performance on Thursday, November 17, 2022. The installation designed by Cyrah L. Ward in collaboration with scenic designer Sarah Beth Hall features a series of found sacred objects, original digital art collages, and poetry. The embodied performance of BLACK IS HOLY: A WORD features choreography by Cyrah L. Ward in collaboration with Ronya-Lee Anderson, scenic design by Sarah Beth Hall, audio engineering by Cyrah L. Ward, sound design by Veronica J. Lancaster, lighting design by Luis Garcia, costume design by Ashlynne Ludwig, projection design by Deja Collins, and stage managing by Safiya Muthaliff. This document serves as a written performance that creatively travels readers through the energetic, spiritual, compositional, and choreographic development of BLACK IS HOLY: A WORD.Item THE UNCONVENTIONAL BALLET BODY IN THE 21ST CENTURY(2022) ROCHER BARNES, CAROLINE; PORTIER, KENDRA; Art; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The Unconventional Ballet Body in the 21st Century represents the written portion of my thesis project in support of my dance choreography Bodily Intelligence, both requirements of the M.F.A. in Dance at the University of Maryland, College Park. Bodily Intelligence premiered on November 17th, 2022, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Dance Theatre. This research explores the impact of unconventionality of ballet in the 21st century and reveals how the search for the ideal body aesthetics has made it exclusive and disconnected from the current times. This paper highlights the influence of dance icons whose atypical aesthetics pushed the art form’s boundaries and contributed to its advancement towards a more inclusive world. It also examines the importance of racial diversity, inclusion, and gender non-conformism within the dance world and explores the impact of the corps de ballet in the current era. Moreover, the research describes how my choreographic influences and professional ballet experience feed into the creative process. It shines a light on my desire to work with a racially diverse cast with various dance training and highlights how their collaborative effort can redefine the future of ballet in the twenty-first century.Item Leonard Bernstein's "MASS": An Introductory Guide for the Developing Conductor(2022) Goinz, Matthew; Maclary, Edward; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In June 1966, a year after “Chichester Psalms” premiered, Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis approached Leonard Bernstein with an invitation to write the piece that would open the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Bernstein was still int he midst of his music directorship of the New York Philharmonic and fielding guest conducting invitations from the top orchestras of the world. Tasked with honoring an immensely popular fallen President whose Catholic faith was central to his identity while simultaneously celebrating the immeasurable complexity of the United States of America, Bernstein surely felt the weight of this monumental commission. “MASS” would become the largest, most personal, and most controversial composition of Bernstein’s career. Both loved and loathed, “MASS” is an important work in Bernstein’s compositional oeuvre and, indeed, the modern choral-orchestral and theatrical canons. It is also a highly complex piece of music and theater that presents extraordinary organizational and financial challenges to those who would produce it. These obstacles, in turn, create a stumbling block to student conductors who might consider studying it. My hope is that this paper offers these student conductors a tangible, pragmatic place to start their journey with one of the great artistic achievements of the late 20th century.Item “LOST PATTERNS” AND “FINALLY, FAIRIES!”: AN EXPLORATION OF PROCESS, TRUST, AND COLLABORATION(2022) Poch, Andres; Mezzocchi, Jared M; Conway, Daniel; Theatre; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The following thesis documents my design process and the discoveries I had as the scenic designer for “Finally, Fairies!” conceived by Tristan Koepke, and the scenic and projections designer for “Lost Patterns” conceived by Rebecca Hill. Both productions opened on April 11th, 2021 as part of the Spring M.F.A. Dance Thesis Concert at the Dance theater at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland.