| Description |
Dance is a way of knowing the self, but who is the self that is known and how does one come to know it? In this research, I explore the relationship between movement and identity, drawing on the disciplines of modern dance; Self Psychology, as defined by Heinz Kohut; Creative Systems Theory, as articulated by Charles Johnston; Voice Dialogue, as expressed by Hal and Sidra Stone and Miriam Dyak; and Laban Movement Analysis, as written by Rudolf von Laban and Peggy Hackney, as theoretical frames for my creative research into how one's identity manifests in movement. I propose that the self one comes to know through dance is both multidimensional and an integrated whole, and that the means one uses to know this self is that of embodied physical experience. Through my creative research I have seen how movement can illuminate identity, not in a limiting, definitive way, but through the recognition of repeated patterns of choices that reflect values and preferences on the part of the mover. I have come to a greater understanding of identity not as a concrete definition or label, but as an experience of the essence of the self. Although one may not be able to describe this experience absolutely in words, I believe that an indefinable essence of the self persists. One can observe and detect these repeated patterns of personal expression that are the felt experiences of the identity manifest in motion. |
