Presentation Title
Movement-Improvisation Across the Lifecycle
Abstract
Drawing from the fields of dance and anthropology, my research examines how movement-improvisation is used by older dancers to sustain participation in Vermont’s arts, education, and performance community. Using interviews and shared movement practices with Vermont dancers, I explore how movement-improvisation provides an opportunity to reframe ability, particularly in the conversation of older bodies. I will present my findings on the interaction of age and improvisation as discussed and embodied by these practitioners. Additionally, this research informs my ongoing performance project at the University of Vermont. Age and aging are perceived and handled differently across cultures. In the United States, older bodies are often excluded from participating in dance performance. Existing scholarship illustrates the necessity for the consideration of cultural and contextual variations in age and performance. Current literature recognizes the power of movement-improvisation to create age-critical narratives in performance and calls for the restructuring of ageist constructs embedded in Western society. My interdisciplinary research provides a holistic understanding of how improvisation serves older practitioners’ navigation of age-centric cultural structures present in the United States. It contributes to a wider pedagogical and performative tapestry, adding to the foundation for future inquiry of dance and age in different cultural contexts.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Deborah Blom
Secondary Mentor Name
Paul Besaw
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Second Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Program/Major
Dance
Second Program/Major
Anthropology
Primary Research Category
Arts & Humanities
Secondary Research Category
Social Sciences
Tertiary Research Category
Vermont Studies
Movement-Improvisation Across the Lifecycle
Drawing from the fields of dance and anthropology, my research examines how movement-improvisation is used by older dancers to sustain participation in Vermont’s arts, education, and performance community. Using interviews and shared movement practices with Vermont dancers, I explore how movement-improvisation provides an opportunity to reframe ability, particularly in the conversation of older bodies. I will present my findings on the interaction of age and improvisation as discussed and embodied by these practitioners. Additionally, this research informs my ongoing performance project at the University of Vermont. Age and aging are perceived and handled differently across cultures. In the United States, older bodies are often excluded from participating in dance performance. Existing scholarship illustrates the necessity for the consideration of cultural and contextual variations in age and performance. Current literature recognizes the power of movement-improvisation to create age-critical narratives in performance and calls for the restructuring of ageist constructs embedded in Western society. My interdisciplinary research provides a holistic understanding of how improvisation serves older practitioners’ navigation of age-centric cultural structures present in the United States. It contributes to a wider pedagogical and performative tapestry, adding to the foundation for future inquiry of dance and age in different cultural contexts.