LOST PATTERNS: AN INVESTIGATION INTO TRANSLATION

Abstract

Lost Patterns was an evening length concert performed March 11–13, 2022, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in partial fulfillment of the M.F.A. degree in Dance from the University of Maryland’s School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies. Lost Patterns investigated the translation process inherent in Appalachian music and dance traditions to discover avenues of experimentation tethered to tradition. This percussive dance work highlighted the way the body, as an instrument, translates music. In collaboration with the cast, Lost Patterns excavated three different approaches to translation: melodic replication, improvisation, and sonic abstraction. These approaches invited multiple translations to occur simultaneously in the choreography and music, while acknowledging and honoring the dance lineages present within the performers. This paper is a written account of the creative process behind Lost Patterns, with ethnographic context and a historical framework for the dance traditions extrapolated within the work.