| Description |
This thesis unfolds in a chronological order, in which I share the creative journey of how I grew as an artist. I end my thesis with a firm statement about what I believe and do not believe, and why I create what I create. I am still in the process of learning. The three themes which structure my investigation are: (1) how my early experiences influence me today; (2) the ebb and flow of my creative process; and (3) an exposition of my choreographer heart's manifesto. It is common in a research thesis to first outline theoretical concerns and then illustrate them with concrete examples. Here I try a different approach. I first begin by establishing a personal and social context for my research. In the following chapters, I analyze my artistic development during the time I worked as a performer and dancer at the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater, and the Beijing Paper Tiger Studio. And finally, in the third part I discuss the creative research during my three years of study at the University of Utah. In particular, I examine my creations, Red and The Thread of Ariadne, to address my research question which is motivated by the first two sections: How can I present people physically, expressionistically and gesturally in order to unearth the unique expressivity of every lived individual? It is empirical. I am not interested in adopting a theoretical paradigm and imposing it upon my creative research in dance and theater. It is my belief that dance, this body-based art form, inherently contains everything. I only need to draw the thesis out from within. |
