Kara Miller Dissertation
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UC Davis UC Davis Previously Published Works Title Re-imagining Modern Dance as Transnational Phenomenon Through the Lens of Yoga Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9bw7b8sv ISBN 9781321806892 Author Miller, Kara Publication Date 2015-04-01 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Re-imagining Modern Dance as Transnational Phenomenon Through the Lens of Yoga By KARA LYNN MILLER B.F.A. (The Juilliard School) 1993 M.F.A. (University of California, Irvine) 2006 DISSERTATION Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In Performance Studies in the OFFICE OF GRADUATE STUDIES of the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS Lynette Hunter, Chair Jennifer Fisher Archana Venkatesan Committee in Charge 2015 i This dissertation is dedicated to a past, present, and future that is ever changing in the constant renewal of creative process; to my yoga family, teachers and sangham whose presence have encouraged me to express the deep mysticism and wisdom of life experiences through many forms of art, scholarship, and service; to my dance lineage, friends, and artists who have inspired me to know the fullness of breath in my body and being; to my mother for teaching me that anything is possible if I am open and willing to work for change; to my father who instilled in me a love of writing and the knowledge that I am free to make choices; and to my partner whose friendship, trust, and support helped me fulfill my potential in the writing of this dissertation. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii ABSTRACT ix PARTS AND CHAPTERS I Performing the Self (Entrance Into the Space of the Paper Performance) 1 II Introduction: Yoga and Dance in the U.S. 4 Chapter Outline and Methodology 5 III Early Influences: Tracing the Connectivity of Early Modern Dance and Yoga 22 A Personal Experience of Dance Training in New York 23 Historical Overview of the Development of Yoga Philosophy in the 1800s in the U.S.: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau 29 Swami Vivekananda, Genevieve Stebbins, Ruth St. Denis, and American Delsartism: A Shift from Yoga Philosophy to Bodily Practice 34 Yoga, Dance, and Women’s Rights in the 1920s – 1950s: St. Denis and Graham 48 The Effect of Representations of Yoga in Photography and Film Culture in Popular Women’s Magazines and Film Shorts 52 IV Reinvention, Transformation, and Physical Culture: The Crossroads of Training in Dance and Yoga Practices 57 In the Studio: Training the Dancer’s Body -1960s and 70s 59 Hatha Yoga Styles 65 Whitecloud Studio, Gyrotonics, and Yoga for Dancers -1980s and 90s 67 Cross-Training in Yoga and Dance Today: Representation in Popular Dance Magazines and Digital Media 68 Commodification of Yoga Dance Products and Rave Culture 74 Globalizing the Globalized: Dance-in-Yoga in China 77 Commodification and Hybridity 79 Commercialization 82 Conversations with Artists 84 Uttara Asha Coorlawala 85 Loretta Livingston 93 Observation and Reflection of Personal Teaching Strategies in Dance at the of University Hawai‘i at Mānoa 103 iii Observation of Yoga-in-Dance Classes at a Regional American College Dance Festival Association Conference in 2012 112 Yoga-in-Dance Performance 116 Savion Glover Phillip Askew and Lydia Walker Navtej Johar Rudrukrakysha Foundation Institute Perspectives in Educational Environments and Performance Practice 124 V A Personal Journey: Dancing Yoga (Practice) 129 Place 130 Creative Process as Performance 132 The Research Performance Project: Ocean’s Motion 136 Generation, Response, and Collaboration Strategies: Theorizing Modes of Creativity 137 Spanda and Accumulation 141 Bhakti as Felt Memory 154 Choreography and Improvisation 164 Meditation and Breathing 175 Video Projection Design 186 Public Performance Engaging Audience Practices 199 Conclusion 209 VI Namaste: Exit from Performance Space 212 APPENDICES 214 BIBLIOGRAPHY 233 ENDNOTES 244 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 Swami Vivekananda, World Parliament of Religions, 1894 34 Figure 3.2 World Parliament of Religions, 1894 35 Figure 3.3 Swami Vivekananda and Female Supporters 36 Figure 3.4 Ruth St. Denis, Rukmini Devi, Uday Shankar 38 Figure 3.5 Harmonial Gymnastics 39 Figure 3.6 Ruth St. Denis Teaching at Denishawn “My First Yoga Class 1915” 45 Figure 3.7 Ruth St. Denis “The Yogi” 47 Figure 3.8 Popular Yoga Gymnastics in Magazines in the 1930s 49 Figure 3.9 Newsreel Film Still 1938 53 Figure 4.1 Dance Magazine 2008 70 Figure 4.2 Alvin Ailey Instructors in Ebony Magazine 71 Figure 4.3 Advertisement for a Yoga Rave Party 76 Figure 5.1 Mānoa Valley, Oahu 130 Figure 5.2 University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Campus 131 Figure 5.3 Kāneʻohe, Oahu, a site where footage for Ocean’s Motion (O.M.) was filmed. 132 Figure 5.4 Lanikai, Oahu 133 Figure 5.5 Logo for the Production 137 Figure 5.6 Kāneʻohe, Oahu, a site where footage for O.M. was filmed. 142 Figure 5.7 Lanikai, Oahu 156 Figure 5.8 Kāneʻohe, Oahu 157 Figure 5.9 San Souci Beach 161 v Figure 5.10 The Old Temporary Dance Building at U.H. Mānoa Campus where O.M. was initially created and rehearsed. 165 Figure 5.11 Image of the O.M. Score in Process 167 Figure 5.12 Initial O.M. Rehearsals in the Temporary Dance Building 168 Figure 5.13 O.M. Performance at Kennedy Theatre 170 Figure 5.14 View of O.M. set from the Kennedy Theatre House 173 Figure 5.15 Deep Sea Section of O.M. 174 Figure 5.16 Temporary Dance Building Studio. The location where much of the choreography was developed for the production. 176 Figure 5.17 Dancing at the Mānoa Falls River Ravine in Mānoa Valley 183 Figure 5.18 Projection Design for “I AM” 184 Figure 5.19 Underwater image by Brent and Peggy Gaither Adams filmed in the Pacific. 187 Figure 5.20 Image from video projection design of the Leafy Seaweed Dragon shot at the Birch Aquarium in San Diego, California. 188 Figure 5.21 Reflective Image from a Pool Shoot 193 Figure 5.22 Initial Test Shots of Sundara 195 Figure 5.23 U.H. Mānoa Dive Pool, Filming Dancers Underwater 196 Figure 5.24 Creative blue screen made from City Mill blue tarp. 196 Figure 5.25 Stills from Underwater Video 197 Figure 5.26 Dance Sequence Shot List 198 Figure 5.27 Video projection design edit sample mixing pool footage with aquarium jellyfish images. 199 Figure 5.28 Opening scene from the projection design on the cyclorama during the performance. 200 Figure 5.29 Live Performance with Projection Design 202 vi Figure 5.30 Stills from projection design images used for transitions. 205 Figure 5.31 Performers in O.M. 209 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the culmination of a long period of questioning, practicing, researching, listening, experiencing, effort, grace, and learning. Many teachers, colleagues, and friends have guided and inspired me along the way. Thanks to the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship for helping fund the initial stages of the research, to the Performance Studies program at the University of California, Davis for enabling this study, to the University of Madras for access to their library, and to the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa for supporting my time in writing this dissertation. I was extremely fortunate to work with an amazing committee who all took time to see me and discuss my research. I appreciate the suggestions from Lynette Hunter, my committee chair whose mentorship has been invaluable. Thank you Lynette for your insightful comments and careful critique of my writing. Also thank you for your time to work through all these drafts. To Jennifer Fisher, I am grateful for tea, scones, and especially for introducing me to my first dance studies conference. Your theory classes planted seeds that eventually blossomed into this project and you have been a guiding force in my research for this dissertation. To Archana Venkatesan, thank you for always making yourself available to discuss my developing theories and work throughout my graduate studies and helping me make connections to ideas of transnational flow in literature and the arts. Additional faculty throughout my graduate studies who I am grateful to for helping open my thinking include: Susaimanickam Armstrong, Leo Cabranes-Grant, Peter Lichtenfels, Janet Papale, Jon Rossini, and Frank B. Wilderson III. I offer gratitude to many colleagues and friends for their artistry and inspiration along the journey of writing: Peggy Gaither Adams, Sami L.A. Akuna, Marian Bilheimer, Didi Chang, Uttara Asha Coorlawala, Pratap Das, Carla DeSola, Betsy Fisher, Claudia Florian-McCaffrey, Jeannette Hereniko, Vilsoni Hereniko, Angana Jhaveri, Alex Khalil, Edward Lawrence, Loretta Livingston, Gregg Lizenbery, Donald McKayle, Moana Nepia, Carla Norwood, Helga Nowacki, Janet O’Faolain, Amy Schiffner, Beth Stephens, Vicky Holt Takamine, Minerva Tapia, The Asia Pacific Dance Festival Committee, and all the dance and theater students, staff, and faculty from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. A heartfelt appreciation to my yoga and dance communities, to the Boomer bodysurfers in San Diego, California for our late night fire chats where conversations over roasted eggplant lasagna and marshmallows sparked memories and stories, and to my social media collaborators online where many shared visual images and fragments of poetic thoughts emerged that created connections in my thinking for this project at 4am and all kinds of random hours in multiple time zones around the world. I especially thank my family: my parents Dixie and Jim Miller who have always shared love and been teachers throughout my life, my siblings and their families Aaron, Jeremy, and Amy Miller for encouragement, and my partner Larry Asakawa who has shared this journey of yoga with me and spent endless hours in discussion during the research for this project.