Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Dance -- Philosophy; Modern dance; Empathy;

Abstract

The present study was designed as a comparative analysis of the performer's empathic process in the arts of interpretation and modern dance. The similarity between the performer's empathic process in both arts provided a method for exploring the utility that modern dance offers the interpreter. It was the purpose of this thesis to suggest that training in modern dance provides an experience in expressive movement which develops the interpreter's ability to empathize with the literature.

The performer's experience in modern dance and interpretation involves an empathic response to stimuli presented within the choreography or within the literature. Examination of various theories of empathy described the performer's experience in both arts. Numerous relationships exist between the performing artists, yet it was the purpose of this study to examine only one of these relationships: the performer's empathic process. Description of this specific relationship suggested that participation in modern dance increases the interpreter's awareness of his own movement. The increased awareness of the body and its movement,-develops the interpreter's ability to appropri9tely express the imagery discovered in a piece of literature.

Year of Submission

1979

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Theatre

Department

Department of Speech

First Advisor

Phyllis Scott

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

1979

Object Description

1 PDF file (84 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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