Speakingdance: a concept-based practice for the performance of being

Speakingdance is a new concept-based approach to dance practice, in which a dancer’s sense of being is performed. The practice provides a meaningful purpose for speech in contemporary dance and challenges objective perceptions of a dancer. Philosophical writing about speech and being provides a framework with which to reconsider the relationship between speech and contemporary dance to perform a dancer’s sense of being. Therefore, this thesis asks, how can speech be used in contemporary dance to perform the dancer’s being? Speakingdance responds to that question with: a new approach to improvisation, an affective conceptualization of being, dance that ‘speaks’ through a poetic rhythm, and a resonant relationship between a dancer and audience members. A practice research approach, that values the agency of the practitioner-scholar as part of a phenomenological enquiry, was undertaken. Practical experiments with dance and speech were documented through video and written experiential accounts. Three ‘practice sharings’ were created to gauge the resonant impact of the work through audience participation and written ‘resonance narratives’. Resonance indicates a relational engagement with the dancer’s being. NVivo video annotation software was used to triangulate the relationship between speech, dance and audience participation. The ideas of Adrianna Cavarero, Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida, and Henri Bergson, provided a philosophical context for experiential knowledge. Writing facilitated reflection in which the concepts of Speakingdance were formulated. The practice research was structured around three key objectives: • Developing an understanding of the relationship between speech, dance and being. • Investigating how the dancer can speak in performance without detracting attention away from the dance. • Exploring how speech can support the performance of the dancer’s sense of being. Speakingdance has relevance for dance practitioners interested in improvisation, speech, and the performance of being. The practice and written thesis encapsulate research on the topic of dance and speech, which is just emerging in academia. Uniquely, Speakingdance contributes a discussion of a dancer’s ontology to the field. The research reveals a particular conceptualization of being, that contributes to the discipline of performance philosophy through dance – an artform not widely represented in this area.