Abstract:
This thesis explores the practice of silence: specifically the silence engaged in the creative process of choreographing a hybrid dance performance and, to discover the methodologies and significance of silence used in this form of dance. The choreography expresses my research question; how can I create a hybrid dance performance through the choreographic ‘Practice of Silence’? The methodology of this practice-led research is that of Silencing, which I can best describe as the quietening of the body and the mind through meditative practices, to discover the manifestation of the ‘performance of silence’. The methodology is supported by a phenomenological hermeneutic study together with a rhizomatic arrangement of the ongoing insights through choreographic exploration. Within this structure a dance performance and a written exegesis make up the thesis and each part supports the other. The dance work is a solo piece presented as the output of reflections from journals kept by me, as the choreographer, after time spent in the rehearsal studio experimenting with dance movements following periods of meditative silence. I set out to carefully describe the feelings and thoughts of my dance body, the awareness of how it feels to move following studio practise and reflective writing, using silence as the creative source in order to manipulate time and space. My background is that of a choreographer and dancer of Asian dance genre (Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Joget and Terinai) and martial arts (Kalaripayattu, Silat, Tae Kwon Do). As part of my exploration into the realms of silence I reviewed the practices of meditation and self-reflection in dance. I am not alone as there are other researchers (Bright, 2010; Christensen & Weinman, 2014; Denesha, 2014; Lalitaraja, 2012) and choreographers (Lin, Songs of the Wanderers, 1999) investigating in this field of inquiry. In my search for literature to the hermeneutical approach to this study I have looked into the findings of dance researchers (Andresen, 2011; DeLeon, 2005; McNamara, 1999) who have sought to discover the nature and importance of embodied knowledge in choreography and performance. The findings of other dance researchers demonstrate the acknowledgment of mind body centering techniques in the choreographic process, however there are occasions the notion of silence tends to be undervalued and may require greater appreciation for its contribution to my own creative journey. Nevertheless I found there is an expanding body of research and a growing number of adherents who are advocating the benefits of contemplative techniques across all modes of learning because it allows the individual time to process what they have learnt and transform it into what they believe and therefore become their ‘knowing’.