The Dancer–Audience Relationship
Date
2014-10-27
Authors
Torres-Ortiz, Luis R.
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Abstract
This document describes the investigative process of the dancer– audience relationship through the exploration of emotions as movements. I choreographed an eleven minute and forty seconds (11:40) dance piece called Bereave to the music composed by Ariel Ramirez and sung by Ane Brun, “Alfonsina y el mar” (“Alfonsina and the Sea”), and Gert Anklam’s “The Sound of Time.” The underlying story of my choreography involved the experiences of an individual letting go of ideas, material possessions, situations, circumstances, or people that no longer support one’s journey toward the future. It was my choreographic intention to create a dance piece anchored in images inspired by music that elicited emotions from the dancers. It was my expectation that this process would prompt an emotional connection between the dancers and the audience. I conducted a survey and collected the audience’s feedback after the inaugural performance of Bereave on December 9, 2013, in an intimate dance studio transformed into a performance space at George Mason University’s De Laski Performing Arts Building’s room 301. I was eager to know at what point(s) the audience felt most moved, touched, and/or inspired. Just as I wanted to learn from the audience, I also wanted to learn from the dancers, so I conducted a post-performance interview/dialogue with the dancers to document their experiences. In the process of reviewing all the gathered data, I learned that the invigorating and gratifying phenomenon of the dancer–audience relationship comes from an unquantifiable source.
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Keywords
Dancer, Audience, Relationship, Emotions, Love, Indifference