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INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced withwith permissionpermission of thethe copyrightcopyright owner. owner. FurtherFurther reproduction reproduction prohibited prohibited without without permission. permission. DANCE IN LIGHT: A CAREER DOCUMENTATION OF CHOREOGRAPHER DANA REITZ by Timothy J. Willmot submitted to the Faculty of the Department of Performing Arts of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Performing Arts: Arts Management Chair: ^ ^ " ■ Wv-? Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences 2 0 /9 Date 1996 American University Washington, D.C. 20016 QOS A1EBICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1381829 Copyright 1996 by Willmot, Timothy James All rights reserved. UMI Microform 1381829 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © COPYRIGHT by TIMOTHY J. WILLMOT 1996 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION In memory of dancer, choreographer, and friend Daniel Albert (1954-1989) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DANCE rN LIGHT: A CAREER DOCUMENTATION OF CHOREOGRAPHER DANA REITZ by Timothy J. Willmot ABSTRACT This thesis seeks to establish that choreographer Dana Reitz is one of the most innovative voices in the recent history of modem dance, particularly in her work concerning structured improvisation and the relationship between light and movement. A systematic study of Reitz's artistic development is conducted to demonstrate that this originality is based on her investigation into a series of narrowly focused questions that seek to discover the nature of perception in relation to movement. Research consisted of interviews with Reitz, as well as of unrestricted access to Reitz's personal archive which included reviews, articles, correspondences, itineraries, press releases, photographs, drawings, videotapes, and other primary documents. A review of the general and specialized literature was also conducted. These materials were analyzed to conclude that Reitz’s work, particularly her collaborations with lighting designer Jennifer Tipton, is so innovative as to constitute an entirely new mode of performance. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PREFACE I met Dana Reitz in 1992 when she came to the American University for a three-week intensive residency. I performed in her piece Light Field and was so utterly fascinated by her choreographic style and devotion to the performance form that she was allowing me to experience in the theater that I felt my life beginning to change. After she left American, I received a call from her during the summer inviting myself and Mark Simpson, a lighting designer at American with whom I was working, to take a workshop with her and Jennifer Tipton in New York. I could not put a price on what I learned during those two weeks in August-October from these two extraordinary women. After that experience, I came back to American University and co­ choreographed a piece with Mark Simpson entitled Light Music. During that process I became interested in researching Reitz’s career and this interest became the basis of this study. She gave me carte blanche access to her personal archive which included newspaper clippings, programs, contracts, itinerary, tour schedules, videotapes, press releases and conversations. We talked and talked over the days it took to collect the research and I accumulated many hours of personal interviews on her attitudes and philosophies regarding her creative work, performance, art, and life in general. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I feel privileged to have spent so much personal time with the artist who is the sub ject of my thesis. The culmination came when she invited me to the premiere of Necessary Weather and to have dinner with herself, Sarah Rudner and Jennifer Tipton after the performance. I continue to be inspired on a daily basis by the example of her artistry. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge Dana Reitz for giving me unrestricted access to her personal archive, for the countless hours of talks and interviews that she granted to me over the course of this project, for inviting me to participate in the dance/lighting workshop she held with Jennifer Tipton, and for giving me the opportunity and experience of dancing in her work, Light Field. I also want to acknowledge Suzanne Carbonneau, dance critic, dance historian, and friend. She has guided me throughout the entire process of this project from collecting the research and organizing it, to reading the manuscript and offering suggestions and comments, to helping me stay centered and on track with my writing. She has been there personally and professionally for me and without her none of this would have ever come to fruition. My appreciation to Douglas Sonntag of the National Endowment for the Arts for the interview which served as one of the catalysts for the project. To my instructors at Potomac Massage Training Institute, especially Patty Prestigiacomo, for allowing me the time and flexibility to finish work on this project as I was also completing my certification in massage therapy. To my classmates, thanks for the massages. I could not think of a better situation to support me in the writing of this thesis. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract............................................................................................................................................ii Preface........................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................v List of Illustrations.....................................................................................................................viii Chapter 1. Beginnings...................................................................................................................1 2. Blank Art .................................................................................................................... 12 3. Collecting Phrases....................................................................................................27 4. Into the Unknown....................................................................................................46 5. Field Papers ..............................................................................................................67 6. Severe Clear..............................................................................................................83 7. Circumstantial Evidence .........................................................................................97 8. Suspect Terrain ...................................................................................................... 108 9. Lichttontanz ............................................................................................................. 122 10. Re-Entry ..................................................................................................................134 11. Necessary Weather................................................................................................141

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