Brief Research Outline

My current research deals with embodiment and intermediality in contemporary dance performances in Europe and in Canada. Herein, research the feedback loop between contemporary dance performances and the public arena / the imaginary of popular science and technology. I understand the impact of technology on the body as a project and work site of meaning, where (post)modern and (post)human subjectivities are articulated. My key research questions elaborate on how science and technology influence contemporary dance performances; and how, in turn, contemporary dance performances shape or reshape the technological and cultural scientific imaginary by influencing the codification of bodies, specifically in terms of what is to be considered a ‘normal’ body and what as ‘monstrous’.

Key to my research is mapping the transformative political and activist potential inherent to these contemporary dance performances, understanding theoretically informed research as a tool to look outward into the public arena in ways that may influence – or intervene in – public perception.

The corpus to be researched comprises of a selection of previous works by at least three contemporary choreographers, two of which are likely to be André Gingras (Canada) and Ivana Müller (Croatia), as well as a selection of their forthcoming projects. Both choreographers (and their dancers) have lived and worked in various national and cultural settings; their previous works incorporate explorations of absent bodies (Müller), genetic modification, medical autopsy techniques and atomic science (Gingras), and philosophical discourses on thoughts (Müller).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Extended Research Outline

AcKNOWLEDGEing Bodies: Science and Technology in Contemporary Dance Performance

Presently, people are more and more disentangled from bodily contact with others as the use of virtual methods of communication becomes widespread in Western, affluent societies. Conversely, a return to the body can be distinguished in cultural studies, in the field of genetic research, in medical imaging technologies, as well as in contemporary forms of spiritualism: topics which are frequently touched upon in contemporary dance performances. That the body is inherently multiple, split and fragmented is brought powerfully to the fore in contemporary dance performances. It is in these artistic creations that the connections between the performing bodies on stage, between the performers and the audience, the spatial and temporal sphere in which the performance is set, and the specific genre techniques and media deployed communally produce meaning.

Main research question:
How is the feedback loop between contemporary dance performances and the public arena / the imaginary of popular science and technology constituted?

The research question is composed of the following sub-questions:

• How do science and technology influence contemporary dance performances?

• How, in turn, do contemporary dance performances shape or reshape the technological and cultural scientific imaginary by influencing the codification of bodies, specifically in terms of what is to be considered a ‘normal’ body and what as ‘monstrous’?

• How do popular notions of technological and scientific research re/arrange themselves into new forms of intertextuality and intermediality in contemporary dance performance?

• How does the specific cultural embedding of the performer(s) and the choreographer(s) work through into the performance?

• Which (ethnic, gendered, national, sexual) elements are forgotten in the process?

• What is the relation between (inter)mediality and the physicality of a dance performance, both for the spectators and the performer(s)/choreographer(s)?

• How does the use of space in the artistic medium of dance performance relate to scientific and technological knowledge production?

• How does the integration of dance and interactive technologies contribute to the notion of corporeality in an era bounded by digital technologies? What if the performing body is absent?

Summary of proposed research
My proposed research topic deals with embodiment and intermediality in contemporary dance performances in Europe and in Canada. Herein, I aim to research the feedback loop between contemporary dance performances and the public arena / the imaginary of popular science and technology. I understand the impact of technology on the body as a project and site of meaning, where (post)modern and (post)human subjectivities are articulated. Crucially, the relation between art and science is a two-fold reciprocal movement; the dualistic schematisation is for the sake of argumentation as it is highly intertwined. The project aims at rethinking processes of semiosis in contemporary dance performances. It does so in order to develop a conception of the spectator as a body in the performative space. The body is involved with the performative event through several perceptual systems simultaneously. This perceiving body is not conceived of as something ‘natural’ in opposition to cultural and historical specific cognitive processes. Instead, the goal is to engage with processes of experience and meaning-making as taking place at the intersection of the physical possibilities of bodies and cultural conditioning.

Description of subject area, including its relation to other work in the field
The broad subject area of my project is located in the fields of performance studies through an interdisciplinary approach, combining feminist theory, anthropology, phenomenology, psychoanalytic theories, philosophy, cultural studies, visual culture, and feminist science studies.
Notably, the theoretical framework operates on the cross-roads between various disciplines and is dialogically informed by the material of research itself. Thus, the various stages and components of the research will require different methodological and theoretical approaches. In this project, I understand contemporary dance as a site which draws on cultural memory: not only happening on an individual level, but also taking place on a collective level, linking the present to the past. In doing so, and in shaping (trans)national identities, contemporary dance performances and performance art may contain a strong ethical and political aspect. Key to my research is mapping the transformative political and activist potential inherent to these contemporary dance performances, understanding them as theoretically informed research; thus, I perceive these performances as tools to look outward into the public arena in ways that may influence – or intervene in – public perception.
Inspired by Andre Lepecki’s conception of performance studies, among others, the proposed project aims to bridge the gap between contemporary dance performances and the public arena / the imaginary of popular science. Even though a wealth of research is conducted in the fields of cognitive science, information technology and cybernetics and their relation to performance studies, no current research exists that combines all modes of inquiry into a close-reading of several contemporary dance performances.

Aims and objectives
As a result of the research process, I expect to find links between the performers’ informed ‘bodily intention’ and the processes of remembering and forgetting, thus underlining my hypothesis that contemporary dance performances use remnants of cultural memory by subsequently transforming and reforming them into new forms of intertextuality. Additionally, I anticipate finding connections (both thematic and stylistic) between the choreographers’ previous and recent works. The research will furthermore elaborate explicitly on the way in which the choreographers train their performers, as well as the methodology that they use in creating a performance. Herein, I expect to find a direct linkage between the specific cultural embedding of the performer(s) and the choreographer(s) work and the sensory experience of the performance itself. Broadly speaking, I aim to understand what art does to science and technology and what science and technology do to art. Understanding how the specific performances of my research corpus work also means to understand the impact that certain performances can have. Theoretically I aim to refine a method to study specific performances in a broader perspective.

Research methodology, theoretical framework and corpus
In this research a selection of dance performances will serve as my ‘theoretical subjects.’ Contemporary dance performance, as what Roland Barthes has called a ‘cybernetic machine’, addresses the audience through different senses simultaneously as well as through intermediality, and thus highlights the relationship between moving bodies, perception and embodiment. I envision deploying a combination of the following methods: close-reading performances (both ‘live’ and recorded) with a focus on their medium specificity; possible interviews with choreographers and dancers; observing the contact and communication between choreographers and dancers; and observation of the research process that precedes the performance.

The theoretical framework moves through an interdisciplinary approach, using feminist theory, anthropology (Marcel-Israël Mauss and David Howes), phenomenology, psychoanalytic theories, philosophy (in particular Deleuze | Guattari, and Judith Butler), cultural studies (Stuart Hall and Sandra Harding), visual culture (W.J.T. Mitchell, Sean Cubitt, Amelia Jones and Laura Marks), feminist science studies (of which Donna Haraway in particular), and performance studies (of which the frameworks introduced by André Lepecki and Richard Schechner are of particular importance). Notably, the theoretical framework operates on the cross-roads between various disciplines and is dialogically informed by the material of research itself. Thus, the various stages and components of the research will require different methodological and theoretical approaches. In this project, I understand contemporary dance as a site which draws on cultural memory: not only happening on an individual level, but also taking place on a collective level, linking the present to the past. In doing so, and in shaping (trans)national identities, contemporary dance performances and performance art may contain a strong ethical and political aspect. Key to my research is mapping the transformative political and activist potential inherent to these contemporary dance performances, understanding theoretically informed research as a tool to look outward into the public arena in ways that may influence – or intervene in – public perception.

The corpus to be researched comprises of a selection of previous works by at least three contemporary choreographers, two of which are likely to be André Gingras (Canada/the Netherlands) and Ivana Müller (Croatia/the Netherlands), as well as a selection of their forthcoming projects. Both choreographers (and their dancers) have lived and worked in various national and cultural settings; their previous works incorporate explorations of absent bodies (Müller), genetic modification, medical autopsy techniques and atomic science (Gingras), and philosophical discourses on thoughts (Müller). I am in contact with both choreographers.

Results and objectives
As a result of the research process, I expect to find links between the performers’ informed ‘bodily intention’ and the processes of remembering and forgetting, thus underlining my hypothesis that contemporary dance performances use remnants of cultural memory by subsequently transforming and reforming them into new forms of intertextuality. Additionally, I anticipate finding connections (both thematic and stylistic) between the choreographers’ previous and recent works. The research will furthermore elaborate explicitly on the way in which the choreographers train their performers, as well as the methodology that they use in creating a performance. Herein, I expect to find a direct linkage between the specific cultural embedding of the performer(s) and the choreographer(s) work and the sensory experience of the performance itself.

Proposed methods of analysis
In this research a selection of dance performances will serve as my ‘theoretical subjects.’ Contemporary dance performance, as what Roland Barthes has called a ‘cybernetic machine’, addresses the audience through different senses simultaneously as well as through intermediality, and thus highlights the relationship between moving bodies, perception and embodiment. I envision deploying a combination of the following methods: close-reading performances (both ‘live’ and recorded) with a focus on their medium specificity; possible interviews with choreographers and dancers; observing the contact and communication between choreographers and dancers; and observation of the research process that precedes the performance.
The sources I use to describe “the imaginary of popular science and technology” are established through a close-reading of current popular science journals and magazines, such as American Scientist, National Geographic, Nature, and New Scientist; as well as television programmes on popular science, where relevant. Here I consider BBC programmes on robots, the human senses, genes; and programmes featured by television stations such as National Geographic and Discovery Channel.
The corpus to be researched comprises of a selection of previous works by at least three contemporary choreographers, two of which are likely to be André Gingras (Canada/the Netherlands) and Ivana Müller (Croatia/the Netherlands), as well as a selection of their forthcoming projects. Both choreographers (and their dancers) have lived and worked in various national and cultural settings; their previous works incorporate explorations of absent bodies (Müller), genetic modification, medical autopsy techniques and atomic science (Gingras), and philosophical discourses on thoughts (Müller). Additionally, selected works by Maria Baroncea (Romania); Henrietta Hale (UK); and Claudia Wittmann (Canada) will provide a context of choreographers working on similar themes and their inclusion provides comparative materials to grasp the state of the art in the very specific corpus of contemporary dance performance dealing with science and technology.

Choice of methods
The reason for selecting the abovementioned methods is the need for an in-depth close reading of the research corpus. Rather than a larger scale comparative analysis between a plethora of contemporary performances, which would solely map their differences and similarities, adopting a close-reading method allows for a multilayered and rich understanding of the multiple structures and dynamics at work. The deployed method benefits from several disciplinary approaches. Interdisciplinarity is suitable for such an object of research, given its different media and features.

Brief bibliography

• Bleeker, Maaike. Anatomy Live. Performance and the Operating Theatre. Amsterdam: Amsterdam UP, 2008.
• Brandstetter, Gabriele and Hortensia Völkers (Eds.). ReMembering the Body: Body and Movement in the 20th Century. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz, 2000.
• Birringer, Johannes. Performance, Technology and Science. New York: PAJ Publications, 2008.
• —. Media & Performance: Along the Border. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1998.
• DeLahunta, Scott. “Sharing Questions of Movement”. De theatermaker als onderzoeker: Theater Topics II. eds. Maaike Bleeker, Lucia van Heeteren, Chiel Kattenbelt & Kees Vuyk. Amsterdam University Press. 2006. pp. 182-186.
• Deleuze, Gilles and Felix Guattari. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1987
• Goodman, Lizbeth and Jane de Gay (Eds.). Routledge Reader in Politics and Performance. London: Routledge, 2000.
• Goodman, Lizbeth. “Performance futures: Bodies in movement, viewed through multiple screens”. International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media 3.2&3 (2007).
• Hall, Stuart and Jessica Evans (Eds.). Visual Culture: The Reader. London: Sage, 1999
• Hayles, N. Katherine. How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1999.
• Haraway, Donna J. Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. London: Free Association Books, 1996.
• Harding, Sandra. Science and Social Inequality: Feminist and Postcolonial Issues. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2006.
• Howes, David. Empire of the Senses: The Sensual Culture Reader. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2005.
• Jones, Amelia. Body Art/Performing the Subject. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998.
• Lepecki, André. Exhausting Dance: Performance and the Politics of Movement. London: Routledge, 2006.
• —. Of the Presence of the Body: Essays on dance and Performance Theory. Middletown: Wesleyan, 2004.
• Marks, Laura U. Touch: Sensuous Theory and Multisensory Media. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002.
• Mauss, Marcel. “Les Techniques du corps”. Journal de Psychologie 32(3-4), 1934.
• Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. Phenomenology of Perception. Translated by Colin Smith. London: Routledge, 2002.
• Mitchell, W.J.T. What Do Pictures Want?: The Lives and Loves of Images. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2006.
• —. Picture Theory: Essays on Verbal and Visual Representation. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1995.
• Phelan, Peggy, and Jill Lane. The Ends of Performance. New York: NYU, 1998.
• Reinelt, Janelle G. and Joseph Roach (Eds.). Critical Theory and Performance. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2007.
• Scheer, Edward. “Violence, Performance, Responsibility”. Body Show/s: Australian Viewings of Live Performance, Peta Tait (Ed.). Amsterdam: Rodopi Theatre Series, 2001.