Dramaturgy in Motion: At Work on Dance and Movement Performance

285 Pages·2015·2.266 MB·English

by  Katherine Profeta

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Dramaturgy in Motion
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Society of Dance History Scholars
The Soc i ety of Dance Hist ory Schola rs [SDHS] adv ances the field of dance
stud ies through re search, pub li ca tion, per for mance, and out reach to au di ences
across the arts, hu man ities, and so cial sci ences. As a con stit u ent mem ber of
the American Coun cil of Learned So ci eties, SDHS holds an nual con fer ences;
pub lishes new schol ar ship through its book se ries, pro ceed ings, and Conversations
across the Field of Dance Studies; col lab o rates reg u larly with peer in sti tu tions in the
United States and abroad; and presents yearly awards for ex em plary schol ar ship.
SDHS Pres i dent: Thomas F. De Frantz, Duke Uni ver sity
SDHS Ed i to rial Board
Chair: Sarah Da vies Cor dova, Uni ver sity of Wis con sin–Mil wau kee
Sher ril Dodds, Tem ple Uni ver sity
Norma Sue Fisher-Stitt, York Uni ver sity
Jens Richard Giersdorf, Marymount Manhattan College
Ellen Graff, The New School, New York
Vida Mid ge low, Middlesex Uni ver sity
Gay Mor ris, Independent Scholar, New York
Re becca Rossen, Uni ver sity of Texas at Aus tin
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Dramaturgy in Motion
At Work on Dance and
Movement Performance
Katherine Profeta
The University of Wisconsin Press
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The University of Wisconsin Press
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Madison, Wisconsin 53711-2059
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Copyright © 2015
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
All rights reserved. Except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles and reviews,
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any
format or by any means—digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—
or conveyed via the Internet or a website without written permission of the University of Wisconsin
Press. Rights inquiries should be directed to [email protected].
Printed in the United States of America
This book may be available in a digital edition
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Profeta, Katherine, author.
Dramaturgy in motion: at work on dance and movement performance / Katherine Profeta.
pages cm — (Studies in dance history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-299-30594-9 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Dramaturges. 2. Dance—Technique.
3. Dance—Production and direction. 4. Choreographic collaboration.
I. Title. II. Series: Studies in dance history (Unnumbered).
GV1782.P76 2015
792.8—dc23
2015009229
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To
James
Asako
Pehoula
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Introduction: Where Did This Dramaturg
Come From? 3
1 Text and Language 24
2 Research 61
3 Audience 88
4 Movement 139
5 Interculturalism 168
Postface 210
Acknowledgments 215
Appendix 219
Notes 225
Bibliography 243
Index 251

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Illustrations
Figure 1. Notes from first Geography workshop xv
Figure 2. Author translating for Geography performers before dress
rehearsal xvii
Figure 3. “Tire Talk” section of Geography 33
Figure 4. Tree 39
Figure 5. “Wall/Hole” section of How Can You Stay in the House
All Day and Not Go Anywhere? (2010) 41
Figure 6. Walter Carter 41
Figure 7. “Mississippi/Duluth” section of Come home Charley Patton
in rehearsal 47
Figure 8. How Can You . . . ? workshop residency 51
Figure 9. Djédjé Djédjé Gervais and Ralph Lemon in Tree 57
Figure 10. Okwui Okpokwasili during How Can You . . . ? 83
Figure 11. Okwui Okpokwasili in Untitled 84
Figure 12. Helen Kent and Ralph Lemon, 2001 104
Figure 13. Okwui Okpokwasili, Katherine Profeta, and Ralph Lemon,
at work on Patton 118
Figure 14. Okwui Okpokwasili and Ralph Lemon in rehearsal
for Patton 119
Figure 15. Okwui Okpokwasili, Katherine Profeta, David Thomson,
and Ralph Lemon in rehearsal for Patton 124
Figure 16. “Wall/Hole” section of How Can You . . . ? 134
Figure 17. “Wall/Hole” section of How Can You . . . ? 134
Figure 18. “Sunshine Room” section of How Can You . . . ? 136
Figure 19. Author in rehearsal for Patton 138
Figure 20. Geography 144
Figure 21. Didier “James” Akpa and Djédjé Djédjé Gervais in
“Endurance” section of Geography 145
Figure 22. Asako Takami in Tribhanga pose 154

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