Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2229
Effective July 1, 2010, the former departments of Dance and Theatre were combined to form the School of Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies.
Browse
67 results
Search Results
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 “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.Item TAKING BACK THE PLAYGROUND: STRATEGIES IN ARTISTIC OBJECTIVE(2022) Daniels, Amber; Davis, Crystal; Dance; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The Graduate Research written in this document contains Dance Candidate Amber Daniels’ investigation of the word play in artistic practice. Daniels is an artist who focuses her movement research on the unpredictable nature of improvisational play and the structural familiarity of narrative movement. Using improvisational, theatrical, and choreographic tactics, she creates small formulas and rules for the movement and collaborating artists to follow. To reevaluate the importance of play in her practice, Taking Back the Playground walks through the investigations of this tactic in multiple strategies of experimentation: movement, direction, teaching, and writing.Item Finally, Fairies!: A Study in Hauntological Choreography(2022) Koepke, Tristan; Portier, Kendra; Dance; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)“Finally, Fairies!: A Study in Hauntological Choreography” is the written thesis that documents the creative research, development, and critical reflection of my dance production Finally, Fairies!, a requirement of the M.F.A. in Dance at the University of Maryland, College Park. Finally, Fairies! premiered March 11-13, 2022, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center's Dance Theatre. In outlining the process from ideation to performance, I illuminate my personal history and artistic lineage in dance performance and choreography. I consider my choreographic impulses and choices in relationship to hauntology, a concept given name by Jacques Derrida and expanded upon by contemporary theorists such as Mark Fisher, Jack Halberstam, and Merlin Coverley. I explore hauntological moods, methodologies, Vaporwave music, and emergent forms of composition that involve both improvisation and choreography. Ultimately, I offer close readings of Finally, Fairies! to further expose what the performance proposed, as well as develop and trouble formulations of presence and embodiment through an insistence on spectrality and indeterminacy.