A choreographer's refection on the dramaturgical process of creating "My Tempest"

Abstract

"My Tempest" is a character-based evening-length choreography inspired by the main images and characters of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." It was performed March 12-14th, 2014, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in partial fulfillment of the M.F.A degree in Dance through University of Maryland's School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies. The choreography and spoken word is a commentary on the role of subjectivity and the crisis of Otherness in our contemporary world; highly intertwining sets, props, music, costumes and sound designs contribute to the aesthetic discourse. Guided by the application of dramaturgy to choreography, and a search for intersections between dance and theatre, this paper details the research and creative investigations that occurred during the process of creating "My Tempest." The paper aims to contribute a better understanding of the potential dramaturgy has on dance and how it can support choreographers and dancers during the creative process.