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Abstract(s)
Based on the inquiries into the genealogies of creativity as a concept in both Western and
Eastern traditions, and tracing the literature around creativity as an object of research in
Creativity Studies, this dissertation tries to situate creativity within the realm of dance
improvisation and looks at how the application and understanding of creativity are closely
connected to the cultural factors surrounding them. Acknowledging creativity as a universal
and culturally related phenomenon which can be accessed by individuals through both
conscious practices and open-mindedness, and seeing dance performance as a manifestation
of creativity, this research asks, first, what is creativity in performing practice and, second,
is there a dancing-self in the performer. It will apply the study of creativity onto the personal
level and into the context of dance.
To answer these corresponding research questions, this study will be divided into two
parts. The first part is a theoretical study of the literature of creativity from traditional
Western and Eastern viewpoints of the creative person to recent cultural and psychological
research approaches about creativity in performance. The second part is a practical study
aligned with the results deduced from the theoretical overview in the first part. It is a Case
Study of three professional dancers of Contemporary Dance working at the State Theatre in
Bremen. Through studying the recordings of their improvised movements with them, using
the methods of video-stimulated-recall and semi-open interviews, a qualitative study will be
conducted to understand how creativity emerges with relevance to the theoretical findings as
well as the idea of the dancing-self.
Description
Keywords
Dancing-self Taoism Dance-creativity Contemporary dance Eastern creativity