Oscar. Delta. Echo. A Study on the Physical Poetics of Gratitude
Location
Guzman 112, Dominican University of California
Start Date
4-17-2019 11:00 AM
End Date
4-17-2019 11:30 AM
Student Type
Undergraduate - Honors
Faculty Mentor(s)
Thomas Burke, MFA and Gay Lynch, PhD
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
The work in its entirety seeks to explore communication, specifically how loss can be communicated through the embodiment of gratitude. Even in the face of loss, when people are no longer with us, their impact on our lives gives voice to our stories, our capacity to change, and our strength to continue. The experience of relationships, through the process of introductions, intimacy, and absence, is ultimately a tender ode to one another.
Following the three stanzas of an ode, the thesis unfolds in three sections where each section reflects respective stages of the choreographic process as well as corresponding with an aspect of presence. Paying tribute to those no longer present provides a way to transform loss into profound expressions of gratitude. The first section, under the title of Oscar, introduces the people. Delta, relating to change, seeks to convey how those people impact our lives and change the shape of our worlds, both when they come in to our lives and when they leave. In the last section, those changes continue to resonate, Echo, even after the individuals have changed, dispersed, or disappeared.
The research seeks to answer questions about both the expression and experience of loss. Through this process, ideas about impermanence and change, resilience and healing naturally became woven into the paper. Referencing both academic and artistic works on these themes, gratitude becomes intertwined with feelings of loss and absence. In physical and introspective reflection, both the finished dance and the written thesis connect these three sections with overarching or underlying gratitude.
Oscar. Delta. Echo. A Study on the Physical Poetics of Gratitude
Guzman 112, Dominican University of California
The work in its entirety seeks to explore communication, specifically how loss can be communicated through the embodiment of gratitude. Even in the face of loss, when people are no longer with us, their impact on our lives gives voice to our stories, our capacity to change, and our strength to continue. The experience of relationships, through the process of introductions, intimacy, and absence, is ultimately a tender ode to one another.
Following the three stanzas of an ode, the thesis unfolds in three sections where each section reflects respective stages of the choreographic process as well as corresponding with an aspect of presence. Paying tribute to those no longer present provides a way to transform loss into profound expressions of gratitude. The first section, under the title of Oscar, introduces the people. Delta, relating to change, seeks to convey how those people impact our lives and change the shape of our worlds, both when they come in to our lives and when they leave. In the last section, those changes continue to resonate, Echo, even after the individuals have changed, dispersed, or disappeared.
The research seeks to answer questions about both the expression and experience of loss. Through this process, ideas about impermanence and change, resilience and healing naturally became woven into the paper. Referencing both academic and artistic works on these themes, gratitude becomes intertwined with feelings of loss and absence. In physical and introspective reflection, both the finished dance and the written thesis connect these three sections with overarching or underlying gratitude.