Creative Collaboration in Immersive Dance Theater

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Description
This document investigates the nature of artistic collaboration in an immersive production. The term “collaboration” indicates the multiple participatory connections between the director and cast collaborators, the director and performers, the performers and audience, and the director and the audience.

This document investigates the nature of artistic collaboration in an immersive production. The term “collaboration” indicates the multiple participatory connections between the director and cast collaborators, the director and performers, the performers and audience, and the director and the audience. From my research on immersive dance studies, I will elaborate on three topics in this document: the collaborative interaction between the choreographer and cast collaborators, the dancers and audiences, and the choreographer and dancers. The purpose of this study is to conceptualize dance as the main expression to create active audience engagement and centralize dance in the discourse surrounding immersive performance. Dance in immersive practice prioritizes “co-authorship” through establishing a close kinesthetic and emotional sharing experience to eliminate the traditional boundary between the performers and audiences; and it innovates a new way to blur the distinction between these two parties. In this document, I will specify the definition of “immersion” through a multi-collaborative perspective that is relevant to my applied project. In addition to sharing my creative experience, I will further analyze the artistic utilization of participation, engagement, and interactivity in two existing immersive productions: Sleep No More and Home Training. My primary methodologies to effectively conduct this research include post-performance interviewing with the audiences, dancers, and cast collaborators who are directly engaged in the immersive production; reviewing the studio practices and rehearsal footage; and the examination of existing literature, published scholarship, critical review, online video resources, professional blogs and social media sites. This research contributes to the development of contemporary dance and theater studies through an immersive lens and prioritizes interactive spectatorship within this mode of artistic expression. My ethos of developing theatrical immersion studies as an emerging artist is to emphasize the integration of dance and theater. I strive to contribute my academic investigation to the dance field through conducting critical scholarship and maintaining artistic vitality. I hope to change the traditional paradigm of how my audiences enjoy and think about the contemporary aesthetic by honoring their diverse social identities.
Date Created
2022
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