Creating Multivalent Danced Narratives in Odissi and Contemporary Dance
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Date
2017-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Myths and stories have the ability to serve as life models, informing one about the experiences of others and providing examples of how to engage with one’s surroundings. In societies past, religious figures and shamans passed on myths and tales, but today, in a complex world, artists create new “myths,” often recreating older ones to fit into a modern mold. Although many of the culturally steeped metaphors and symbols in ancient tales may be lost on today’s audiences, the themes and emotions speak universally. I have investigated the idea that narratives from another culture and time, told through dance, a uniquely evocative format, can impact audience members on an emotional level. I have answered this question by performing an Indian dance solo based on Hindu poems and collecting non-Indian audience members’ responses, finding that many distinguish specific emotions from the nuances in facial expressions and hand gestures. In addition to the Indian dance solo, I am choreographing a contemporary piece loosely based on a new story, exemplifying the concept that contemporary artists create their own myths, reimagining or abstracting traditional roots. I will also collect audience responses for this piece once completed, but as contemporary dance was founded more on an experiential basis than a devotional or performative basis (as was Indian dance), I am more interested in recording how my dancers and myself respond to representing our individual impulses while embodying universal themes. I have researched and applied specific aesthetic vocabularies used in each form to shape a narrative. The significance of this project is to show that dance can serve as a valid means for communication with an audience, extending beyond cultural and temporal bounds, and to also show that while models for story telling may change, the human experience and recognition of these experiences remain the same.
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Keywords
Dance, Indian culture, mythology, systems of belief, contemporary art