Altered Experience in Dance/Dancing

222 Pages·2013·0.91 MB·English

Altered
Experience in
Dance/Dancing
Investigation into
the Nature of Altered
Experience in Dancing
and Pedagogical Support
Linda Gold
38
acta scenica

Altered Experience
in Dance/Dancing
Investigation into the Nature of
Altered Experience in Dancing
and Pedagogical Support
Linda Gold
Altered Experience in Dance/Dancing - Investigation into the Nature of Altered
Experience in Dancing and Pedagogical Support
Doctoral dissertation
Publisher
Theatre Academy, Performing Arts Research Centre
© Theatre Academy and Linda Gold
Graphic design
Hahmo Design Oy
www.hahmo.fi
Layout
Edita Prima Oy
Cover drawing
Linda Gold
Printed by
Edita Prima Oy, Helsinki 2013
Paper
Carta Integra 300 g / m2 & Cocoon offset 120 g / m2
Font family
Filosofia. © Zuzana Licko.
Acta Scenica 38
ISBN (paperback)
978-952-6670-19-5
ISBN (pdf):
978-952-6670-20-1
ISSN (paperback)
1238-5913
ISSN (pdf)
2242-6485
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments 7
Abstract 9
Chapter 1: Researcher Stance, Prior Background, and Research Questions 11
Chapter 2: Literature Review 20
Chapter 3: Methodology and Dance Course Description 61
Chapter 4: Findings and Interpretations 106
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations 171
Bibliography 190
Appendices Appendix I 202
Appendix II 217

Dedication
To my parents, who taught me by example to seek and value the truth, and to the
remarkable teachers who have guided me on this path.

Acknowledgments
Many individuals and institutions were important to the realization of this disserta-
tion. I gratefully acknowledge them all, and name those most notable to the project.
I thank external examiner Associate Professor Susan Koff for her grasp of nu-
anced concepts. Her guidance helped re-orient my writing and encouraged the de-
velopment of new thoughts and directions. I thank external examiner Dr. Karen Bar-
bour for her meticulous attention to detail and structure. Her suggestions helped
me to reformulate this dissertation and make it more cohesive and expressive of the
research. I thank advisor Professor Leena Rouhiainen for her sensitive insight and
extensive knowledge, which she generously shared, and advisor Professor Emeritus
Soili Hämäläinen for her unflagging support of my research process and her ability
to find innovative solutions to whatever hurdles I encountered.
Thanks also goes to Professor Esa Kirkkopelto for his vision and commitment
to collegial research and for shepherding my work through administrative transi-
tions, and to Annika Fredriksson, Research Coordinator, for her skillful manage-
ment, and kindness in keeping me appraised of all logistical details and protocols.
I want to thank the Theatre Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, for the
opportunity to undertake this research and explore a topic that I continue to find
fascinating, and for providing the means to produce this research in its published
form. I also want to acknowledge the faculty, librarians, and staff who I have had
the benefit of working with. Their helpful knowledge and friendly assistance was
always available.
Thanks goes to Santa Monica College for the freedom in the classroom to develop
and implement the teaching approach used in this investigation, and for the sabbat-
icals that provided opportunities to expand my knowledge and initiate the writing
of this dissertation. Further, I want to thank the students in the classroom investi-
gation for their open and energetic participation. They were a pleasure to work with
and I found their feedback stimulating and thought provoking.
Great appreciation goes to Lynwood Lord for his careful copyediting of the
written text, to John Samargis for his assistance in scanning graphic data and making
it print ready, and to Tarja Lindroos for her expertise in the layout of this document.
I want to thank my family and friends whose good counsel, good humor, and pa-
tience throughout the many phases of this doctoral candidacy reinvigorated my ef-
forts and kept me on track. And finally, I want to acknowledge the artists, scholars,
teachers, and practitioners who encouraged my research and believed me a worthy
exponent of the topic.