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Writing the aerial dancing body a preliminary choreological investigation of the aesthetics and kinetics of the aerial dancing body

  • Authors: Acker, Shaun Albert
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Dance -- 19th century Dance -- 20th century Dance -- 21st century Aerialists Movement, Aesthetics of Feminine beauty (Aesthetics) Movement notation
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2129 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002361
  • Description: This mini-thesis investigates some of the nineteenth century socio-cultural ideals that have structured a connection between virtuosic aerial skill and bodily aesthetics. It views the emergence of a style of aerial kineticism that is structured from the gender ideologies of the period. It investigates the continual recurrence of this nineteenth century style amongst contemporary aerial dance works and outlines the possible frictions between this Victorian style of kineticism and contemporary aerial explorations. From this observation, a possible catalyst may be observed with which to relocate and inspire a study of aerial kinetics sans the nineteenth century aesthetic component. This kinesiological catalyst may be viewed in conjunction with the theories of ground-based kinetic theorist, Rudolph Laban’s choreutic study of the body in space. Thus, it may be possible to suggest and introduce a possible practical dance scholarship for aerial dance. This mini-thesis includes an introductory choreological investigation that draws on and integrates the disciplines of kinesiology; choreutic theory; existing aerial kinetic technique; musicology; and the physical sciences.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

The advent of the 'Festivore' an exploration of South African audience attendance in the performing arts at the National Arts Festival

  • Authors: Antrobus, Richard Roy
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Standard Bank National Arts Festival -- Economic aspects , Arts -- Economic aspects , Performing arts festivals -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Arts -- South Africa -- Economic aspects , Arts -- South Africa -- Finance , Arts -- South Africa -- Political aspects , Arts audiences -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2130 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002362
  • Description: In South Africa, the performing arts have contributed to enhancing national identity and distinctiveness despite coming up against weak legislation, policy and infrastructure to support their growth and proliferation (Fredericks, 2005: 9). Coupled with a decline in both government and consumer support and the contradictory disparity between valuing the arts and the funding of the arts, theatre companies can no longer rely on the comfort of external subsidies and financial support. In order to be economically viable and sustainable to ensure their survival, there is an increasing demand for theatre companies to look to novel ways of increasing audience demand for theatre and improving audience attendance. However, instead of risking artistic integrity and the performance product to satisfy the market, this research suggests that promotion and development of theatre at arts festivals provides a platform to access a wider theatre-going public, which therefore facilitates a change in the market focus toward appreciation of the product (production). It explores leading arguments pertaining to the attendance of arts and cultural events, namely, Peterson and Simkus (1992), later updated by Peterson‟s (2005)„omnivore-univore‟ argument. The argument purports cultural consumption as binary in nature: either significant and diverse or limited, if not absent altogether. Supported by a number of case-studies, including Chan and Goldthorpe (2005) and Montgomery and Robinson (2008) and Snowball et al. (2009), the investigation challenges Bourdieu‟s (1984) theory on cultural distinction as well as the homology and individualisation argument. In determining the factors that influence cultural taste and consumer behaviour, including motivators and inhibitors of attendance and a predominant emphasis on audience risk and information asymmetry, the research was placed in a local context, providing an overview of the socio-economic theatre environment in South Africa. It investigated the nature, structure and impact of local festivals (as events) in changing audience demand and theatre attendance. With specific reference to the South African National Arts Festival (NAF) the research notes the effects of Hauptfleisch‟s „eventification‟ phenomenon on univore attenders and therefore expands the omnivore-univore theory to include a new breed of attender: the “Festivore”. A case study explored the “Festivore” hypothesis through empirical research, surveys and face-to-face qualitative interviews and on-seat questionnaire responses by festival attenders. Personal interviews and communication was also carried out with leading experts in the field. The data was then analysed using SPSS 13 electronic statistical analysis programme to determine the socio-demographics and the factors that affect theatre attendance of existing, as well as potential target, theatre audiences at the National Arts Festival The study concluded that South African theatre attenders are generally omnivorous consumers and that, more importantly, there seems to be a shift towards „festivorous‟ consumption. Furthermore, evidence supports the development and proliferation of festivals as a means not only to support and promote the arts in South Africa but, more importantly, to generate new theatre audiences and entrench theatre attendance into South African culture.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

Identity and transformation within the Playhouse Dance Company, 1993-1997

  • Authors: Ballantyne, Tammy Marguerite
  • Date: 1998
  • Subjects: Playhouse dance company , Dance -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2131 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002363 , Playhouse dance company , Dance -- South Africa
  • Description: This thesis examines the principles and policies underlying the need for transformation within the Playhouse Dance Company (PDC) in Durban and the actualities of implementing these visions and procedures. It is proposed that artistic structures, ideals and processes cannot remain impervious to the climate of change. Alterations in the political arena demand radical permutations within arts councils and their concept of repertoire, educational programmes and training. Transformation is linked to the problem of identity and it is suggested that the company is in the midst of a journey towards "becoming" rather than "being". Chapter One comprises an overview of changing trends in the arts globally and the impact on South Mrican art forms and processes. There is also an examination of the past, the establishment of arts councils and the colonial heritage of the dance companies within these councils. The formative years of the NAP AC Dance Company and the strategies formulated by former artistic directors have, it is suggested, hampered the transformation process. Chapter Two focuses on the PDC's endeavours to transform between the years 1993 and 1997. Lack of funding, conservative public tastes and training processes are. all' issues confronting management, choreographers, educators and performers in attempting to provide a clear direction towards transformation. The company walk a tightrope as they struggle to balance the heritage of their artistic past while giving birth to a new heritage for the future. Chapter Three discusses two areas that reveal measurable attempts at transformation. Hawkins offers re-inventions of the classics which encourages innovation, and Siwela Sonke was conceived to draw on dance forms located in Kwazulu-Natal in the search for a South Mrican dance aesthetic. Chapter Four investigates whether transformative visions are becoming a reality and suggests how the company could extend the process further. This chapter concludes with .. ideas about the nature of culture and how this informs,the exercise of transformation. This thesis proposes that transformation within the PDC is occurring even though it has its shortcomings. The main thrust of the research is to investigate, identifY and document factors that are contributing to current dance trends in Durban.
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  • Date Issued: 1998

"A dark revolt of being" abjection, sacrifice and the real in performance art, with reference to the works of Peter van Heerden and Steven Cohen

  • Authors: Balt, Christine
  • Date: 2009
  • Subjects: Cohen, Steven, 1962- Van Heerden, Peter Phelan, Peggy Kristeva, Julia Lacan, Jacques Performance art -- South Africa Abject art
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2132 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002364
  • Description: This thesis is an exploration of some of the defining characteristics of performance art, and an investigation of how such characteristics relate to ritual. It highlights some key notions, such as that of the “Real” and the live, which are introduced in the first chapter. This chapter explores the theories of Peggy Phelan, Julia Kristeva and Jacques Lacan in its attempts to conceptualize the Real. It assesses how performance art as ritual attempts to revise traditional apparatuses of representation. It argues that, through a transgression of representation, performance art has the potential to challenge and revise established discourses on identity, culture and violence. The second chapter of this study is an attempt to provide a history and subsequent conceptualization of performance art, based on its exposition of the live. I have taken into consideration certain strategies that performance artists employ to evoke the live, referring specifically to the manipulation of the body. It is through abject encounters with the unsymbolizable “Real” that the performance artist reaches the borders of his/her subjective constitution, and performs a transformation of his/her identity that transcends the mechanisms of representation. The third chapter of this study attempts to find the connections that exist between performance art and sacrificial ritual. I will refer specifically to the theories of Rene Girard. Girard‟s notion of the “violent sacred” and its significance within sacrifice as an antidote to community crises will be explored in relation to collective transformation within the performance event. I choose to focus specifically on the role of the performer as surrogate victim/pharmakon, and the spectators/witnesses as part of the community. The fourth chapter explores how two South African performance artists, Steven Cohen (1961) and Peter van Heerden (1973), perform the abject body as the monster. Kristeva‟s notion of the abject will be examined in terms of the transformation of the individual performer as subject within performance art, and how, through the assumption of an “othered,” monstrous identity, the performer becomes the surrogate victim. The fifth chapter will entail an examination of Peter van Heerden‟s 6 Minutes. I will attempt to draw parallels between performance art and ritual through using this performance piece as a case study. I will focus on the strategies that Van Heerden implements to resist theatrical representation. 6 Minutes will be observed in terms of its link to sacrificial ritual, and it presentation of the live, and the Real. In light of these discoveries, I aim to locate performance art within politically-driven modes of art-making, and how such an endeavour relates to South African modes of theatre and performance.
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  • Date Issued: 2009

Seductive Manoeuvres: an analysis of the use of feminist performance strategies as a means of staging alternative sexualities in two dance theatre works

  • Authors: Barnard, Joni
  • Date: 2011
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76823 , vital:30627
  • Description: Located within the discipline of Performance Studies, this thesis seeks to validate performance and theatre, specifically dance theatre, as legitimate fields of research and enquiry that can enrich the polemics surrounding discourse, representation, the body and identity. Within this thesis I explore and analyse the creative processes and performance strategies used in two dance theatres works: Acty Tang’s Chaste (2007) and my own work entitled Displayed and Framed (2008) and how these strategies support the staging of alternative sexualities. I argue that the staging of alternative sexualities calls for an alternative approach to the performance strategies utilised in the production of space, the representations of the body and the use of text in both works. Each work offers a particular exploration of gender and sexuality in the attempt to represent alternative identities, alternative bodies and alternative sexualities. In this thesis I identify the endeavour to stage ‘otherness’ as a feminist endeavour and thus identify the performance strategies utilised in each work as feminist performance strategies. Through my analysis I wish to highlight the ways in which a feminist approach can contribute to and enrich both the staging of and understanding of alternative sexualities. In both Chaste (2007) and Displayed and Framed (2008), the choreographers of each work are also performers in their own work in an endeavour to explore and represent their own identity. The analysis of my own work requires that I play the multiple roles of choreographer, performer and researcher. In this analysis I provide accounts of my own experiences, processes and struggles of creating Displayed and Framed (2008) which are analysed in conjunction with my readings of Chaste (2007) and Tang’s personal experiences in creating the work. Thus this thesis explores the value of reflection and self reflectivity in the processes of creating performance.
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  • Date Issued: 2011

Drama in South African secondary schools meeting the challenges of educational change

  • Authors: Carklin, Michael Larry
  • Date: 1996
  • Subjects: Drama in education -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2133 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002365 , Drama in education -- South Africa
  • Description: South Africa is undergoing fundamental transformation at all levels of government and civil society, requiring a firm commitment to redressing the legacy of apartheid and to the development of South Africa's people. Part of this commitment is to undertake research which complements transformation processes, investigating the most appropriate ways to meet the challenges posed by such change. This study examines the potential of drama in the secondary school to meet key educational challenges, motivating strongly for the inclusion of drama as part of the formal curriculum in all schools. Social transformation has been greatly influenced by policy such as the Reconstruction & Development Programme (RDP) and subsequent Government White Papers which identify the need to develop South Africa's human resources as crucial. It is in this light, arid in the context of great disparity that exists across the education spectrum, that learning experiences of high quality must be provided in schools. It is argued that drama, as an lift form and an educational medium, is able to provide such qualitatively sound learning experiences because it is essentially learner-centered, experiential and holistic, offering unique ways of knowing, understanding and gaining insights. However, the classroom drama experience needs careful conceptualisation itself, particularly in view of the fact that life experiences of pupils are characteriseg by multiplicity and diversity within a new era of social and cultural mixing, as well as increased global interaction through, for example, the mass media and the internet. This study thus argues from a post-structuralist perspective, which embraces notions of multiplicity, proposing a reconceptualisation of the classroom drama experience that challenges the oppositional or binary perspectives that have previously characterised the way we think about drama and education. Example~ include art versus utilitarianism; process versus product; drama versus theatre. Investigating the classroom drama experierice in the light of developments in postmodern theatre, this study proposes that classroom drama should be seen as a form of theatre itself and suggests the term theatricalisaction to describe this classroom-theatre process which is based on action, reflection, experience and creative expression. It becomes a theatre of activity or an activating theatre. In this light classroom drama is considered in a specifically South Mrican context. In particular, this study examines the ways in which the following contexts impact upon the drama experience: the education system, the place of the arts within that system, and cultural and linguistic diversity in the classroom. Drawing on policy documentation, conference proceedings and studies that have been carried out in multiculturalism and multilingualism, the specific educational challenges facing South Africans are identified. In further exploring the potential of drama to meeting these challenges, this study documents the results of surveys conducted with drama teachers and with ~students who have studied drama as one of their formal subjects, highlighting in particular their perceptions, perspectives and experiences regarding the aims and value of drama education. Finally, in light of the information gained from teachers and learners, and of the concepts and contexts investigated, this thesis considers the ways in which the drama experience can contribute to meeting three primary educational challenges: the building of a culture of learning; the development and empowerment of pupils; and the embracing of cultural and linguistic diversity. This study concludes that drama is able to contribute significantly to educational change because of the teaching and learning processes it offers as an art form, and in particular, a theatre form. It is such a participatory, democratic classroom-theatre which provides a teaching and learning approach that should be at the core of transformation.
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  • Date Issued: 1996

Composing affect: reflection on configurations of body, sound and technology in contemporary South African performance

  • Authors: Cilliers, Ilana
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/3377 , vital:20478
  • Description: This thesis engages with experiential performance modes through the lenses of phenomenology and affect theory. Because experiential performance relies per definition on personal, subjective ‘experience’, specific responses cannot be anticipated. However, by attempting to compose ‘affect’, a performance has the potential to ‘move’ an attendant towards response. Deleuze and Guattari define ‘affect’ as “an ability to affect and be affected….a prepersonal intensity corresponding to the passage from one experiential state of the body to another and implying an augmentation or diminution in that body’s capacity to act” (1987: xvi). One current strategy for manifesting affect in performance seems to be the ways in which different configurations of body, sound and technology are employed. The body is the means through which sound is received or ‘experienced’ in the phenomenological sense, but it can also act as a source for sonic material. The body is furthermore the means by which sonic technology is manipulated. It is the complex, reverberating relationships between body, sound and technology, and their potential for eliciting affective transformation, which is the focus of my enquiry. In the first chapter I unpack the roles of the natural phenomena, body and sound, and their complex relationships to affect. The chapter serves as philosophical basis for the rest of the investigation, and draws largely on works by philosophers Susan Kozel, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Brian Massumi, Gille Deleuze and Félix Guatarri and sound theorists Don Ihde, Marshall McLuhan, Brandon LaBelle and Frances Dyson.In the remaining three chapters I discuss current South African theatre works that employ the strategy of placing emphasis on sound, sonic technology, and its relationship to the human body. These works are my own piece herTz (2014), Jaco Bouwer’s pieces Samsa-masjien (2014) and Na-aap (2013), and First Physical Theatre Company’s Everyday Falling (2010). While they range from being plays to physical theatre performances to performative experiments, they all place specific emphasis on sonic devices, drawing attention to sound by revealing microphones, speakers, midi boards, etc. to the attendants, and including the generation and manipulation of sound in the action of the performance.
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  • Date Issued: 2016

Workshop theatre in post-apartheid South Africa : a case study

  • Authors: Copteros, Athina
  • Date: 2002
  • Subjects: Theater -- South Africa , Theater -- Political aspects -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2156 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007477
  • Description: This is a qualitative study exploring the use of workshop theatre in post-apartheid South Africa, with the objective of making a contribution to the knowledge-base regarding its use in current times. Workshop theatre is changing in response to a new socio-political reality and emerging trends in theatre practice. The case study, of developing a play on Oystercatchers with a Grahamstown group of artists, revealed the difficulties and challenges of using workshop theatre in this dynamic context. Data collection included a focus group, observation, reflective discussion and in-depth interviews that were analysed in relation to available literature on workshop theatre in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. It is proposed that workshop theatre has continued relevance in post -apartheid South Africa. The process of creating workshop theatre with diverse artists has great potential to transform relationships, address issues of personal identity and to provide an underlying purpose to a workshop theatre -making context.
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  • Date Issued: 2002

The notion of physicality in vocal training for the performer in South African theatre, with particular reference to the Alexander technique

  • Authors: Cox, Frances Jayne
  • Date: 1991
  • Subjects: Voice culture , Alexander technique , Drama -- Study and teaching
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2134 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002366 , Voice culture , Alexander technique , Drama -- Study and teaching
  • Description: Voice training has been influenced by separatist attitudes which have allowed for classes which train the body to be separate from those which train the voice. This study acknowledges that to train an actor in separate compartments and then expect the completeness of human expression in performance, is to train under false pretences. There is a need to address the imbalance of separatism and this is examined within the context of voice training. An holistic approach to voice training forms the basis of the argument, which focuses on the need to re-educate the notion of physicality in voice training. Chapter one proposes an understanding of the notion of physicality by drawing on the attitudes of selected theatre practitioners towards the physical nature of the theatre encounter. The expressive energies of the actor's body are responsible for the physicalisation of a play; for this reason the movement of voice and speech is not only examined as source movement, but also as the movement of an actor's response and communication. Chapter two examines some practices which led to attitudes of separatism in voice training, and introduces prevalent practices which are attempting to involve the energy of the physical experience. Chapter three proposes that the Alexander technique be used as the foundation for an awareness of individual physicality. Where chapter one examines the theory of this notion, chapter three proposes an experiential understanding of the same. The Alexander technique is a training in effective body use and it's principles are fundamental to an awareness of body use and functioning. It is argued that these principles should underlie a re-education of physicality. The final chapter of the thesis argues for physicality in South African voice training programmes which would complement the physicality of contemporary theatre forms. It is hoped that this study will provide further incentive for the continued review and adjustment of drama training in South Africa.
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  • Date Issued: 1991

Queer transgressions : the choreographing of a male homosexual presence with reference to selected choreographers

  • Authors: De Boer, Kyle Dylan
  • Date: 2011
  • Subjects: Queer theory , Gender identity in dance , Homosexuality in dance , Homosexuality and dance , Male homosexuality , Dance -- South Africa , Choreographers -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2161 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009442
  • Description: Queer Transgressions: The choreographing of a male homosexual presence with reference to selected choreographers explores queer identity and in particular representations of a male homosexual presence in dance. Within the methodological framework of dance studies and queer theory I explore the ―self fashioning‖ of my male homosexual presence in dance. This is achieved by critically deconstructing my choreographic process when making choreography. Therefore this thesis is informed by both academic research and my self-reflexive experience of choreography and dance performance. The deconstruction of my autobiography and choreographic process is discussed with reference to both international and South African queer choreographers. This means that by accounting for my own experiences and approaches toward representing a male homosexual presence in dance, I explore the history and engagements of other queer choreographers also creating such representations. I therefore examine the works of selected choreographers and chart the development of the representation of a male homosexual presence in dance. By exploring the choreographic process of other queer choreographers I identify choreographic tactics that queer choreographers are using when making work. From this point of departure I shift the focus away from international queer choreographers and provide insight into the choreographic processes of South African queer choreographers. By accounting for the works and choreographic processes of South African choreographers, I provide a context in which my choreographic explorations on the subject matter can take place. This choreographic exploration manifests itself through a self-reflexive/autobiographic account on the research and practice of my choreographic process. During my choreographic exploration I set the challenge to both engage with and explore further, established ―queering tactics. This is done with the intention to reveal and create representations of a male homosexual presence in dance.
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  • Date Issued: 2011

Some aspects of play production in the English and parallel medium secondary schools of the Eastern Cape 1822-1977

  • Authors: Dickerson, Mary Elizabeth Henderson
  • Date: 1980
  • Subjects: Drama -- Study and teaching (Secondary)
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2127 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002029
  • Description: There has been very little research into play production in schools, as distinct from drama in education and theatre in education, and none at all with specific attention to the Eastern Cape. The proliferation of dramatic productions in the schools of the Eastern Cape during the 1960s and 1970s coincided with the establishment at Rhodes University of a Department of Speech and Drama. The particular interest of this Department in the educational aspects of dramatic work of all kinds led naturally to a desire to investigate what was being done, and had been done, in the schools in the area. Added to this, interest in the history of the Eastern Cape has been stimulated by the building of the 1820 Settlers' Monument, which was opened in 1974, to mark the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the British Settlers. In order to set the social and political scene for the beginnings of cultural activity in the schools, I have given a brief account of the historical events leading up to the English settlement in the Eastern Cape. Because the evolution of the towns has affected that of the schools, an account of this development has been included¹. To prevent this work from becoming unwieldy, the detailed investigation of the cultural milieu has been limited to that of two frontier towns and two seaports, as being the most representative in the Eastern Cape². So much that was done in the schools had grown out of the ideas brought from Britain and its public schools that it was necessary also to look at the basis upon which the schools in the Eastern Cape were founded, and the lines along which their ethos developed. To facilitate a consideration of the work done in play production and related activities over a period of approximately a hundred and fifty years, I have separated the account into four natural historical divisions: from 1820 until the turn of the century; 1900 to 1918; the period between the two world wars; and that which follows the Second World War. Of these, the first three have been considered from the historical point of view; but with regard to the years between 1940 and 1977 it seemed more interesting and profitable to examine specific trends and developments in dramatic activity within the schools. I wished, further, to find more detailed information about what is happening in the schools at present than could be gathered from school magazines and the local press. For this purpose, two questionnaires were sent to the schools. The evaluation of these will be found in Part III and in Appendix B. The investigation was confined to the English and parallel medium schools in the area. The catalogue of plays produced since 1860 which is given in Appendix E is not necessarily exhaustive, though as comprehensive as it was possible to make it. It has been drawn up from the information in school archives and the press, as well as that given in the answers to the questionnaires, but there are occasions when these sources do not give titles of plays (this is especially the case with one-act plays) and there are also times when productions may not have been reported, or magazines are missing. It is not the purpose of this thesis to give details of the best production procedures. Teacher-directors may find these in many excellent books on the subject, some of which have been suggested in Appendix F. ¹While not strictly part of the subject under investigation, a consideration of musical activity is relevant to developments in drama . A short section on music has therefore also been included in Appendix A. ²My researches have pointed to the fact that there is an interesting field for further investigation in the smaller towns such as Cathcart and Uitenhage. (Pref. p. ii-iii)
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  • Date Issued: 1980

A critical review of contemporary dance/movement therapy

  • Authors: Du Plessis, Nicolette
  • Date: 1991
  • Subjects: Dance therapy , Modern dance
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2135 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002367 , Dance therapy , Modern dance
  • Description: This critical review aims to describe and define the field of dance/movement therapy. Attention is paid to central issues in psychology and dance studies which influence the advancement of the modality. Dance/movement therapy is a young profession, developed during the second half of this century, and must be viewed within the socio-cultural context of contemporary western industrialized societies. This work therefore firstly documents the development of dance/movement therapy in the light of recent studies into the nature of bodily expression and non-verbal communication. The phenomenological understanding of the human body is discussed, and the concept of bodyliness proposed in order to encapsulate a multi-dimensional understanding of the meanings of the human body. Dance/movement therapy is then delineated in relation to verbal psychotherapeutic traditions, as well as to the more marginalized body therapies. In this way it is hoped to provide an understanding of the historical precedents and theoretical contexts within which dance/movement therapy is emerging, and ultimately the possibly unique alternative service it may provide. As wide a variety as possible of theoretical approaches in dance/movement therapy is then described, and classified according to the predominant psychological orientation of the proponents. From this a critical review is attempted which is directed broadly at foundational considerations of the profession, rather than at any particular methodology. The enquiry focusses on directions for future possible research which will ensure sound theoretical frames of reference for the developing profession. Discussion of two examples of dance being used in the therapeutic context in South Africa concludes. This section is not a judgmental evaluation of techniques, but intended rather as documentation and broad classification of current work of this nature.
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  • Date Issued: 1991

'n Ondersoek na die vorm wat die opvoering in die primêre skool kan aanneem : met spesiale verwysing na geselekteerde primêre skole in die Westelike Provinsie

  • Authors: Du Plessis, Philippus Lodewicus
  • Date: 1979
  • Subjects: Drama in education
  • Language: Afrikaans
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2128 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002030 , Drama in education
  • Description: Watter vorm moet die opvoering in die primêre skool aanneem ? Die opvoering in die skool, en veral in die primêre skool word, veral sedert Peter Slade (1959 : 41-57 ens.) en Brian Way (1970 : 2-3 + 6-8 + 186- 189 + 268-269) gewaarsku het teen die gevare van die opvoering, deur baie beoefenaars van skooldrama afgekeur. Daar het in Engeland, Amerika en ook in Suid-Afrika tweespalt begin ontstaan tussen die aanhangers van die sogenaamde formeIe drama en die sogenaamde informele of vrye drama. Daar behoort nie so 'n tweespalt te wees indien die hele aangeleentheid reg benader word nie. (Heathcote soos opgeneem in Hodgson en Banham 1972 : 41). Daar word beoog om in hierdie studie ondersoek in te stel na die moontlike benaderingswyses asook die wenslikheid van die opvoering in die primêre skool. Die doel van hierdie studie is am opnuut te besin oor die waarde wat die skoolopvoering vir die kind kan hê. Ons durf, as opvoeders, die kind nie uitsluit van 'n aktiwiteit wat 'n bydrae tot sy totale ontwikkeling sou kon lewer nie. Daar word dus gehoop om tot 'n herwaardering van die skoolopvoering te kom wat waardevol sal kan wees in die opvoeding van die kind
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  • Date Issued: 1979

In search of the culture of links : the use of myth and ritual in the work of Peter Brook

  • Authors: Du Plessis, Tanya Lenore
  • Date: 1998
  • Subjects: Brook, Peter -- Criticism and interpretation , Myth in literature , Mahābhārata -- Adaptations , Ritual in literature
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2136 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002368 , Brook, Peter -- Criticism and interpretation , Myth in literature , Mahābhārata -- Adaptations , Ritual in literature
  • Description: This thesis examines the use of elements of myth and ritual in the work of Peter Brook, focusing primarily on The Mahabharata ( 1986 ). The argument proposes that Brook uses myth and ritual as an integral part of his search for the culture of links .. This thesis examines the precise functioning of myth and ritual in Brook's theatre, and places his work in relation to the concepts of interculturalism and postmodernism. In so doing, The Mahabharata is seen as a valid and important step in Brook's search for the culture of links. Chapter One formulates broad-based concepts of myth and ritual, and examines their function in society and culture, as well as their role in theatre. Chapter Two offers a brief discussion of the use of elements of myth and ritual in Brook's productions, beginning with King Lear (1962), and ending with 0rghast (1971). The discussion illustrates the multiple functions which myth and ritual serve in Brook's work. Chapter Three examines the trend of interculturalism, placing Brook's work within this franlework. Attention is given to the moral and political issues implicit in interculturalism. The chapter highlights the need for intercultural theatre to be evaluated in terms of artistic criteria, rather than on anthropological or political grounds. Finally, there is a discussion of the work of other intercultural theatre practitioners. Chapter Four examines Brook's Mahabharata. A detailed discussion of the authenticity and visual presentation of Brook's interpretation shows how Brook mediates between the Indian epic and a Western audience An examination of the critical response offers insights into the dangers of insensitive cross-cultural contact.. Chapter Five offers a critical summary of the argument. Brook's search for the culture of links has led him to use elements of myths and rituals of non-Western cultures. In so doing, Brook seeks to bring their living quality to his work, and to forge links between the peoples and cultures of the world.
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  • Date Issued: 1998

An action learning based reflection on participative drama as a tool for transformation of identity in the spirals programme

  • Authors: Edlmann, Tessa Margaret
  • Date: 2007
  • Subjects: Spirals Trust (South Africa) , Drama in education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Participatory theater -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Active learning
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2159 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008202
  • Description: This thesis is a reflection on both the conceptual frameworks and the personal narratives that have shaped the development of the Spirals Programme. The Programme is a participatory drama and creative arts based initiative established in 2000 in Grahamstown, South Africa, to explore issues of identity in the emerging democratic context of South African society - and support both personal and contextual processes of transformation. Working within a poststructuralist and social constructionist paradigm, Spirals works with groups and communities to facilitate and enable experiential links between the drama based and performative nature of identity construction - and the possibilities for transformation and healing provided by participative drama methodologies. The structure of the thesis follows the principles of the Freirian based Action Learning praxis within which Spirals works. It begins with an account of the contextual dynamics and events that gave rise to the development of the Programme, followed by a reflection on the conceptual frameworks regarding both identity construction and participative drama methodologies that informed Spirals' development. These paradigms are then analysed in relation to the articulated experiences of three workshop participants using critical discourse analysis. The thesis concludes with an assessment of the issues emerging from this analysis - the aspects of the Programme that need to be strengthened and sustained, those that need to be changed and possible new strategies that could be developed. , Also known as: Edlmann, Theresa
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  • Date Issued: 2007

Humour's critical capacity in the context of South African dance, with two related analyses

  • Authors: Elliott, Nicola
  • Date: 2010
  • Subjects: Dance -- South Africa Choreography -- South Africa Dance criticism -- South Africa Theater -- South Africa South African wit and humor
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2137 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002369
  • Description: This thesis spans two fields - South African dance and the philosophy of humour - and attempts to link them through an understanding of their formal mechanisms. I attempt to establish two main ideas: that there is a need for a critical praxis in South African dance, and that humour in dance can be part of this process. In Chapter One, I discuss elements of the South African dance and theatre industries pre- and post-1994 towards arguing my first point (that South African dance would benefit from a critical praxis). I probe some of the challenges facing artists and describe howchoreographers are dealing thematically and stylistically (but not formally) with the concept of the 'New' South Africa. Through an investigation of concerns voiced by critics regarding choreographic form in the country, I argue that South African dance would benefit from critical formal investigations in dance-making. Finally, I discuss traditional views of humour in South African dance/theatre and in philosophy, which suggest that humour is predominantly seen as frivolous and unworthy of serious attenfion. In Chapter Two, I offer a defence for humour's more profound critical aspects, suggesting that humour can in fact be seen as critical 'thinking in action'. A discussion of theories about humour reveals that the basis for humour is the incongruous. A subsequent discussion of form in theatre and dance shows how the incongruous might work within dance form to create meta-dance. In this way, I attempt to link the two fields of humour and South African dance and to make the connection between the critical capaci~ies of meta-dance and those of humour. I suggest, in other words, that humour in dance can create a critical awareness, of the likes advocated in Chapter One. In Chapter Three, I discuss aspects of two works: my own This part should be uncomfortable (2008) and Nelisiwe Xaba's Plasticization (2004). The two analyses differ from each other as does the humour in both works. Despite the differences, I argue that humour in both works is operating on a critical level that includes a meta-level of signification.
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  • Date Issued: 2010

A case study investigation into drama in education as an effective teaching methodology to support the goals of outcome based education

  • Authors: Elliott, Terri Anne
  • Date: 2011
  • Subjects: Drama in education -- South Africa Competency based education -- South Africa Curriculum planning -- South Africa Student centered learning -- South Africa Critical thinking -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2160 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008306
  • Description: The introduction of outcomes based education (OBE) in the form of Curriculum 2005 (C2005), the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) and the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) in post-apartheid South Africa resulted in a shift from a content-centred to a learner-centred view on education. This transition took place rapidly as the new government wanted to introduce a democratic education system after the divisive Bantu education system from Apartheid. However, after the changes were implemented, education in South Africa was theoretically outcomes based but practically many educators were still teaching in a content-centred manner. The research puts forward the proposal that drama-in-education (D-i-E) is a useful means by which to align the practical and theoretical goals of OBE within the context of South Africa's current RNCS. This hypothesis drives the main research question: "Can D-i-E be an effective teaching methodology to realise the goals of the RNCS and generate OBE learning environments in a South African high school?" D-i-E is a learner-centred teaching methodology and in practise it meets many of the goals and Critical Cross-Field Outcomes (CCFOs) of OBE. Some of these include the fact that learners can: • Practice problem-solving skills; • Engage with critical and creative thinking; • Grow cultural and aesthetic sensitivity; • Work effectively in groups; and ii. • Learn in inclusive environments that cater for different learning styles and levels. The research examines the use of D-i-E as an outcomes based methodology by which the RNCS could be implemented in the classroom. This is explored through the use of qualitative research in the form of a case study investigation at a South African high school. The case study was conducted with Grade 11 and Grade 12 Dramatic Arts learners and involves an analysis of a D-i-E approach to learning. The conclusion that D-i-E is an effective outcomes based teaching methodology which could assist educators in realising the RNCS was largely reached through participant observation of D-i-E classes and by analysing the learners' journals in which they reflected on D-i-E experiences. The learners' feedback about the experience was generally positive and they reflected that they found D-i-E beneficial because of the fact that it engaged them experientially. They also reflected that D-i-E provided them with a more meaningful and exciting way of learning. These findings are however only generalisable to the type of context (Dramatic Arts learners from a well-resourced girls' high school) in which the research was conducted. The findings provide detailed insight into a specific case study and may be beneficial to educators in South Africa who aim to make use of the same or similar methodologies in their classroom practice. D-i-E also supports many of the underlying tenants of OBE such as learner-centredness, learner diversity and inclusive learning, and can effectively aid educators in implementing the RNCS in an outcomes based way.
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  • Date Issued: 2011

The politics and poetics of choreography the dancing body in South African dance

  • Authors: Finestone, Juanita
  • Date: 1995
  • Subjects: Dance -- South Africa , Gordon, Gary -- Unspeakable Story , Orlin, Robyn -- In A Corner The Sky Surrenders
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: vital:2138 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002370 , Dance -- South Africa , Gordon, Gary -- Unspeakable Story , Orlin, Robyn -- In A Corner The Sky Surrenders
  • Description: This mini-thesis is situated in the discourse on patriarchy, nationhood and its artistic forms. It is argued that an uncritical pursuit of commonality as a political aesthetic strategy for dance in South Africa repeats the metaphysical foundationalism of this discourse. It is further suggested that a postmodern ethos subverts this heritage, while at the same time offering a viable alternative for accommodating and representing the cultural diversity and plurality characteristic of current theatre dance in South Africa. Chapter One examines the way dance has historically structured its patriarchal form the postmodern discourses Chapter Two as a site and practice through explores the potential of deconstruction and destabilisation of this dance heritage. This chapter also assesses the relevance of a postmodern alternative in a South African dance context. Chapter Three analyses the postmodern choreographic strategies of two South African choreographers, Gary Gordon and Robyn Orlin, in order to reveal how their dance vision to patriarchal aesthetic form and offers an uncritical alternative notions of commonality. In conclusion, it is argued postmodern ethos embodied in the work that the of these choreographers provides viable directions for formulating and articulating new dance directions for theatre dance in South Africa while, at the same time, bearing witness to the diversity that will always structure expressions of commonality in South African dance.
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  • Date Issued: 1995

The political promise of choreography in performance and/as research: First Physical Theatre Company’s manifesto and repertory, 1993-2015

  • Authors: Finestone-Praeg, Juanita
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Choreography -- Political aspects , Dance -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Dance -- Political aspects , Performance art -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Performance art -- History and criticism , Performance art -- Research , Performance art -- Study and teaching , Performance art -- Philosophy , Experimental theater -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Experimental theater -- History and criticism , Political art -- South Africa -- Makhanda , First Physical Theatre Company , First Physical Theatre Company -- History and criticism
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149373 , vital:38844
  • Description: This study redefines the political in dance by drawing on the scholarly concept of the “choreopolitical” (André Lepecki) and extending it into analysing related concepts such as the “postdramatic” (Hans-Thies Lehmann), performance and/as research, among others from Performance Studies scholarship as well as from First Physical Theatre Company’s pioneering legacy of production, pedagogy and research in making Phyical Theatre performance. Following from the notion that performance is both a site and a method of study/knowing, the research invites a rethinking of the relationship between art (performance), epistemology and the political, in the sense that performance becomes a way, not of simply re-presenting the political but, as its own way of knowing, actively questioning the very categories on which the political is premised. The argument for Physical Theatre as having nascent potential to invoke what I call “the power of the small” is analysed as a choreopolitical method and community of practice that has a generative capacity to produce the “intimate revolts” (Julia Kristeva) or body of questions that can perform the imaginative curiosities/forms required to create provocative, subversive, ethical, reflexive and charged performance. My argument is supported by critical commentary, insight, choreological analysis and reflection on the dramaturgical strategies and choreopolitics of selected commissioned choreographers and dance forms that extended FPTC’s manifesto and production between 1993 and 2015. My project has the following three goals: (i) to contextualise, conceptualise and identify key issues in the identity, pedagogy and performance ethos of Physical Theatre as a performance philosophy and form; (ii) to engage critically with the praxis of Physical Theatre within the contextual, cultural, historical and political relationships between Physical Theatre and other performance practices in South Africa; and (iii) to document, analyse and interpret selected claims, works and performance processes from the archive of FPTC’s repertory and training manifesto from 1993 to 2015. The research evaluates the political significance and consequence of FPTC’s heritage and legacy problematising constraints, possibilities, tensions, failures and proposing the hope of imaginative entanglements with practising freedoms.
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  • Date Issued: 2020

Shifting identities: An exploration of the possibilities for a syncretic Afrikaans theatre by means of three case studies – Hex (2003), Lady Anne (2007), Ekspedisies (2008)

  • Authors: Gehring, Heike
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: vital:2165 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021269
  • Description: This thesis investigates the possibilities for syncretic Afrikaans language theatre within a post-1994 South African society. The research sets out to explore in what manner theatre can be language-specific, while at the same time being able to cross language contexts. This exploration is driven by the wish to develop strategies for creating Afrikaans theatre that is able to reflect on a society “united in diversity”. In this regard it is argued that for theatre to be able to both retain and cross language barriers, processes of bonding and bridging are necessary. The thesis sets out first to explain why these processes are required and then to suggest ways in which such processes can be implemented in practice. A triangular approach is used, in which conceptual and theoretical frameworks are developed to reflect on actual theatre practices. Three of my own productions are used as case studies, namely Hex (2000; 2003), Lady Anne (2007) and Ekspedisies (2008). These productions can be understood to be “boundary objects” in Henk Borgdorff’s (2012: 177) sense of the word, in that they fulfil a dual function: they are artistic productions that can also be reconstituted to serve a research purpose beyond the productions themselves. All three works were first created for public consumption before becoming cases for this thesis. Many of the strategies that were developed and tested in creating these productions are examples of ways in which bonding and bridging in Afrikaans language theatre can be understood. Chapter One of the thesis contextualises the political currents and events that necessitated the impulse towards “bonding and bridging”. In this case the political and ethical impetus behind the practical explorations has been related predominantly to the democratisation of South African society, in which a paradigm shift happened from viewing the Afrikaans language as one over many to one amongst many. Within a multilingual South Africa, concerns are raised about ways in which to create theatre in South African languages other than English (often understood to be the only possible bridging language) that are able to cross language divides. Following this introduction to language-related concerns, Chapter Two explains how the shift from apartheid to democracy made space for shifts in identity – on personal as well as institutional levels: a progression from essentialised notions of culture to the celebration of plurality. This progression is then related to theatre, with an explanation of how the post-1994 theatre landscape demanded a reimagining of the form and function of theatre. In this re-imagination the notion of a “third space” is important; something that is introduced in this chapter as an alternative to polarised identity constructions. The function of the “third space” as an in-between space and a meeting point for diverse people and entities is a strong underlying theme of this thesis and it serves as a reoccurring touchstone to the ideas put forward. Chapter Three discusses the South African arts festival culture and its contribution to the South African theatre landscape. Particular focus is placed on the Klein Karoo National Arts festival (KKNK) as a platform for the development of the Afrikaans language within a post-1994 context. What is emphasized in particular is the attempt by the KKNK festival to be linguistically and culturally exploratory and inclusive in the face of language protectionism. After the contextual background of the first three chapters, the thesis shifts to an analysis of theories related to “hybridity” and “syncretism”. In Chapter Four the argument is put forward that of the various inclusive performance and theatre models that represent a multicultural society, the most responsive forms are those that are syncretic and hybrid. Principles that can contribute to the unification and merging of diverse and polarized societal groups are described, and suggestions are made for possible ways to bring about bonding and bridging within cultural practices. Having introduced these principles, examples are offered of how these theories might be understood in other disciplines, namely, religious studies, anthropology, history and a range of cultural practices. Following this broad discussion, Chapter Five describes syncretism and hybridity more specifically in theatre by means of relevant examples. Taking the discussion further into the realm of application, Chapter Six offers an overview of “workshop theatre”, “translation” and “collage making” as strategies for putting theories of hybridity and syncretism into practice. This is followed (in Chapters Seven, Eight and Nine) by a discussion of the three productions (Hex, Lady Anne and Ekspedisies) as case studies that demonstrate how these theories can be understood in practice. Practical strategies for bridging language divides are foregrounded, such as code switching as an approach for enabling a “co-habitation” of languages; physical theatre as a means for crossing language divides; and the creation of more than one language version of a production as a tactic to accommodate shifting contexts. Following on from the discoveries made in the foregoing chapters, I conclude that theories and practices related to notions of “third space”, “hybridity” and “syncretism” are ideal for creating theatre forms (in the Afrikaans language in particular) that can truly reflect a South African society which is “united in diversity”. The thesis ends by offering suggestions for ways in which new, future identities, can be developed.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2016
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