Recontextualising My Choreographic Self: Conceptual and processual strategies for rerouting practice Nerida Kate Matthaei Doctor of Creative Industries, Queensland University of Technology Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Creative Industries 2018 Recontextualising My Choreographic Self Nerida Matthaei 2 Recontextualising My Choreographic Self Nerida Matthaei i. ABSTRACT This practice-led research project defines a methodological basis for the recontextualisation and rerouting of this artist-researcher’s choreographic praxis. This was achieved via experimenting and testing new contemporary strategies underpinned by embodied reflexive practices and creative case studies, which resulted in the creation of new performance works. The intent of this study was to provide myself, as a mid-career choreographer, with mechanisms to articulate, recontextualise and interrogate processual choreographic complexities. The research was undertaken across two projects in a series of creative development periods, firstly, as a solo practitioner creating #angel-monster and A Collection of Me-Isms, and subsequently, with a collaborative ensemble of artists contributing to the premiere of two performance works, The Paratrooper Project and angel- monster. Viewing the enquiry through an insider-outsider artist-researcher lens, the practice-led design was framed by contextual scans of the field, and occurred through recontextualising data gathered from case study material and choreographic experimentation. Together, these became a catalyst for the key outcomes of this research, which are the discovery of new choreographic strategies and the creation of new artistic works. This research has expanded ways of interpreting and understanding central components of contemporary choreographic practice through privileging artistic praxis in dialogue with existing scholarly discourse emerging from the artist’s perspective. Situated in the shifting landscape of the independent choreographer-dancer-producer, it identifies that investigating processual choreographic innovation has been vital to my ongoing artistic development. Furthermore, it acknowledges this necessity for the broader field of contemporary choreographic practice, and as such, the research provides a model for other choreographers to adapt, recontextualise and reroute their own practice. 3 Recontextualising My Choreographic Self Nerida Matthaei ii. KEY TERMS contemporary choreographic practice; choreographic strategies, rerouting practice, practice-led research; reflexive practice. iii. VIDEOS 1. #angel-monster solo, page 72 2. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 2, page 83 3. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 3, page 85 4. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 4, page 88 5. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 5, page 89 6. The Paratrooper Project, Video 1, page 93 7. The Paratrooper Project, Video 2, page 94 8. angel-monster ensemble work, USB provided iv. IMAGES 1. angel-monster, cover image 2. The Kolb Model, page 36 3. The Paratrooper Project Mirroring Mind Map, page 338 4. Hybrid Research Design Map, page 47 5. Creative Works Diagram, page 71 6. #womenagainstfeminism, page 79 7. #angel-monster 1, page 79 8. Danseuse by Jean Arp (1925), page 85 9. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 3 - Dancing Danseuse 1, page 86 10. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 3 - Dancing Danseuse 2, page 86 11. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 3 - Dancing Danseuse 3, page 86 12. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 3 - Dancing Danseuse 4, page 86 13. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 3 - Dancing Danseuse 5, page 86 14. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 4 – Social Currency Collage 1, page 88 15. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 4 – Social Currency Collage 2, page 88 16. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 4 – Social Currency Collage 3, page 88 17. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 5 – Decalcomania 1, page 90 18. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 5 – Decalcomania 2, page 90 19. A Collection of Me-Isms, Experiment 5 – Unconscious Monster, page 90 4 Recontextualising My Choreographic Self Nerida Matthaei 20. The Paratrooper Project flyer, page 94 21. angel-monster flyer, page 96 22. The Paratrooper Project, page 115 23. Imagined Heritage, Mining the Choreographic Unconscious 1, page 118 24. Imagined Heritage, Mining the Choreographic Unconscious 2, page 118 25. Imagined Heritage, Mining the Choreographic Unconscious 3, page 118 26. Blowback Duet, angel-monster, page 122 27. Blowback Duet, angel-monster, page 123 28. #angel-monster, chronological map of scenes, page 126 29. #angel-monster, non-linear map of scenes, page 127 30. The Paratrooper Project, map of scenes 1, page 129 31. The Paratrooper Project, map of scenes 2, page 129 32. The Paratrooper Project, map of scenes 3, page 129 33. angel-monster, assemblage of scenes, page 131 34. angel-monster, cinematic structure database score, page 133 35. angel-monster cinematic assemblage of overall scenes, page 135 36. Punch Like a Girl, angel-monster, page 139 37. angel-monster, installation design 1, page 141 38. angel-monster, installation design 2, page 141 39. #angel-monster, image Recontextualisation 1, page 174 40. #angel-monster, image Recontextualisation 2, page 174 41. #angel-monster, image Recontextualisation 3, page 175 5 Recontextualising My Choreographic Self Nerida Matthaei CONTENTS I. ABSTRACT ______________________________________________ 3 II. KEY TERMS _____________________________________________ 4 III. VIDEOS _________________________________________________ 4 IV. IMAGES _________________________________________________ 4 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP ________________________ 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS _______________________________________ 9 CHAPTER 1. FOUNDATIONS: CONTEXTUALISING THE STUDY ______ 10 1.1 INTRODUCING THE STUDY __________________________________ 10 1.2 ARTICULATING MY PRACTICE _______________________________ 11 1.3 CONTEMPORARY CHOREOGRAPHIC PRACTICE ___________________ 15 1.3.1 Tracks – the political _________________________________ 20 1.3.2 Tracks – dance-theatre constructs _______________________ 22 1.3.3 Tracks – experimental performance modes ________________ 23 1.3.4 Intersecting Tracks – collaborative practices _______________ 26 1.4 SUMMARY _____________________________________________ 28 CHAPTER 2. SCAFFOLDING: A HYBRID METHODOLOGY __________ 30 2.1 AN INSIDER-RESEARCHER CHOREOGRAPHIC LENS ________________ 30 2.2 PRACTICE-LED RESEARCH _________________________________ 31 2.3 REFLEXIVE PRACTICES ____________________________________ 33 2.3.1 Cyclic States of Reflexivity _____________________________ 35 2.3.2 Mirroring States of Reflexivity __________________________ 36 2.3.3 Embodied Reflexivity _________________________________ 38 2.4 CREATIVE CASE STUDY – AN ADAPTED METHOD __________________ 42 2.5 HYBRID SCAFFOLD IN PRACTICE _____________________________ 46 CHAPTER 3. SPRINGBOARDS: A CREATIVE CASE STUDY APPROACH ________________________________________________48 3.1 CREATIVE CASE STUDY 1 - AKRAM KHAN _______________________ 48 3.1.1 Diverse Cultural Approaches ___________________________ 49 3.1.2 Desh – An Analysis __________________________________ 54 3.1.3 Principles Distilled from Creative Case Study 1 _____________ 58 3.2 CREATIVE CASE STUDY 2 - RAEWYN HILL ______________________ 59 3.2.1 Approaches to Practice _______________________________ 60 3.2.2 Mass – An Analysis __________________________________ 63 3.2.3 Principles Distilled from Creative Case Study 2 _____________ 68 3.3 SUMMARY _____________________________________________ 69 CHAPTER 4. PRAXIS: MAPPING THE CREATIVE WORK ____________ 71 4.1 PROJECT 1 – SOLO WORKS ________________________________ 71 4.1.1 - #angel-monster _____________________________________ 72 Analysis of #angel-monster _______________________________ 80 4.1.2 A Collection of Me-Isms _______________________________ 81 Analysis of A Collection of Me-Isms _________________________ 91 4.2 TRANSITIONAL PROJECT ___________________________________ 93 6 Recontextualising My Choreographic Self Nerida Matthaei 4.2.1 The Paratrooper Project ______________________________ 93 4.3 PROJECT 2 – ENSEMBLE WORK ____________________________ 95 4.3.1 angel-monster ______________________________________ 96 CHAPTER 5. CHOREOGRAPHIC PATHWAYS: BUILDING STRATEGIES FOR EXPERIMENTATION ____________________________________ 100 5.1 EMBODIED REFLEXIVITY AS A CHOREOGRAPHIC STRATEGY ________ 100 Approach 1 - Embodied Reflexivity for the Solo Practitioner _______ 101 Approach 2 – Embodied Reflexivity for a Collaborative Choreographic Director _______________________________________________ 102 5.2 IMAGINED HERITAGE ____________________________________ 107 5.2.1 Imagined Heritage as a Methodological Approach _________ 109 5.2.2 Imagined Heritage as a Choreographic Strategy ___________ 112 5.3 CHOREOGRAPHING CINEMATIC STRUCTURES ___________________ 124 5.3.1 Choreographic Cinematic Assemblage Strategies _________ 125 5.4 CHOREOGRAPHIC RECONTEXTUALISATION ____________________ 137 5.5 CHOREOGRAPHING ACTIVE INSTALLATIONS ____________________ 140 5.6 INSTINCTIVE STRUCTURES AND MICRO EXPERIMENTS _____________ 142 CHAPTER 6. DESTINATIONS: THE RECONTEXTUALISED CHOREOGRAPHIC SELF ____________________________________ 145 6.1 SUMMARY OF PRIMARY FINDINGS GENERATED IN ANGEL-MONSTER ___ 147 REFERENCE LIST __________________________________________ 152 APPENDIX ________________________________________________ 172 1. AKRAM KHAN - KATHAK ___________________________________ 172 2. AKRAM KHAN