Dance and the Lived Body: A Descriptive Aesthetics PDF
Preview Dance and the Lived Body: A Descriptive Aesthetics
DANCE AND THE LIVED BODY DANCE AND THE LIVED BODY A Descriptive Aesthetics SONDRA HORTON FRALEIGH University of Pittsburgh Press Published by the University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260 Copyright © 1987, University of Pittsburgh Press All rights reserved Eurospan, London Manufactured in the United States of America Second printing, 1996 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fraleigh, Sondra Horton, 1939- Dance and the lived body. Includes index. 1. Dancing-Philosophy. 2. Existentialism. 3. Phenomenology. 4. Modern dance-Philosophy. 5. Aesthetics. I. Title. GVI588.3.F72 1987 793-3'2 86-19288 ISBN 0-8229-3548-1 Title page photo: Daphne Finnegan in Blood First by Donald Kutschall. Photo: Patrick Hayes. The essay "Poetic Body" from chapter 4 first appeared in Word and Image 2, no. 4 (November 1986). I know nothing, except what everyone knows- if there when Grace dances, I should dance. -w. H. AUDEN CONTENTS Acknowledgments xi Preface xiii Introduction xxi Dance and Existentialism: Personal Notes xxi Existential Context of Modern Dance xxxii Existential Themes in Modern Dance xxxviii PART I DANCE AND EMBODIMENT 1 Dance and the Lived Body 3 Existential Phenomenology 3 Dance and Dualism 9 Overcoming Dualism 11 Spontaneous Body 15 2 Dance and Self 22 Self Known in Its Works 25 The Dancer Is the Dance 31 The Dance Object: I-It 35 Being the Dance: I-Thou 40 viii CONTENTS 3 Dance Itself 43 Of Our Own Making 43 Irreducible Structure of Dance 48 Classical and Existential Models 49 Inmost Dance: Immanent Body 53 4 Dance and the Other 57 Passing Between 57 The Dance Stands Out 62 Body-for-Other 68 Poetic Body 70 PART II A TENSION OF OPPOSITES 5 Dance Tension 77 Cosmic Motion and Dance Tension 78 Phenomenal Tensions in Dance 82 6 Point Counterpoint 94 Definition-Redefinition 94 Countering Definition 101 The Expressive Subject: Nagrin and Sokolow 105 The Formative Object: King, Fenley, Streb, Cunningham, Nikolais 111 7 Expressionist-Formalist Tension 114 Aesthetic-Historic Tension 114 Moving Against Expression 118 Deconstruction and Regeneration 130 Cunningham and Koans 132 Transformations 138 8 Mythic Polarity 141 Female-Male Archetypes 141 Genius of the Heart 141 CONTENTS ix Body of Nature and Culture 153 Body of Earth and Heaven 155 PART III SIGN FOR LIFE 9 Acts of Light 161 Dance and Metaphysics 161 Lived Metaphysics 167 Daily Work 174 10 Moving Time-Space 178 Our Body of Time and Space Poetics of Time and Space 11 Measure and Relationship Moving Once 191 Moving as One 193 Moving as Two 198 Moving as a Group 204 12 Dance Images 209 Of Life: The Dance Image 209 Humphrey's Passacaglia Sokolow's Dreams Falling Everyday Life 233 Farber's Ledge The Open Center 239 Wiener's Wind Devil Fagan's Oatka Trail Signature 251 Notes 255 Index 275
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