In|And|Of|Through

Abstract

<italic>In|And|Of|Through</italic> was a thesis concert performed March 8-9, 2012 at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in partial fulfillment of an M.F.A. in Dance through the University of Maryland. <italic>In|And|Of|Through</italic> contemplates man's relationship to art and the embodiment of visual art through application of basic dance principles espoused by pioneering modern dancer Isadora Duncan to aesthetics from Asian artwork in the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art. This paper is a written account of the choreographic investigations and creative processes that formed the concert, including foundational concepts of Duncan dance technique, research on Asian artworks, and explorations into the cycle of visual art inspiration and physical embodiment. Included is a detailed account of how the concert re-conceptualized Duncan's classical repertoire, fashioned contemporary choreographies from historical resources, and incorporated a community of diverse dancers, live onstage painting, and an abstract gallery setting to explore different effects art has on the human spirit.