| Description |
Using sensory stimuli, creative movement practices, invented creatures, and immersive performance, this dance research presents a reimagined view of the desert landscapes that have come to be known within North American cultural discourse as "The West." The research draws influence from both the author's history as a Euro-American woman growing up in the Southwestern desert, and from her experiences with various North American Indigenous groups, analyzing the differing perspectives of landscape that exist in these two cultural demographics. It examines the influence of North American settler colonialism on contemporary Western views of desert landscapes as wastelands, and the ways in which Indigenous perspectives are counteracting this effect. This written work includes reflections on Reimagining the West, an evening-length dance performance choreographed by the author that presented audiences with a reimagined perspective of desert landscape, embedded with imagery, imagination, mythology, and symbolism. The creative physical and theoretical research of this thesis offers a new understanding of desert spaces and the role of the dancing body in preserving them, arguing for its effectiveness in inspiring individuals to coexist sustainably with natural landscapes. |
