School of Performing Arts - Theses

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    The embodied imagination: choreographic practice and dancing our way into being
    Lay, Paula ( 2016)
    ‘The Embodied Imagination: choreographic practice and dancing our way into being’ is a practice led research project completed between 2013 – 2016 at the Victorian College of the Arts. The thesis comprises a performance outcome and a dissertation. This dissertation examines the scope of the imagination and looks at the way we imagine which includes image making but is not exclusive to the realm of mental images. The premise is that the imagination is a vital synthesizing force that animates the world and which can be appropriated in choreographic practice. A wider definition is proposed that attempts to capture the totality of the imaginary as a continuously emerging potential. I will build towards a discussion on the interplay between the real and the imaginary and develop the idea that through performance we open the possibility of perceiving and imagining in new ways. Through this we create the possibility for tiny shifts in how we can be in the world.
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    Choreographic imagination
    ROBINSON, PHOEBE ( 2014)
    This research explores the role of the imagination in choreographic practice. More specifically, the research has looked at how imagination contributes to the creation, performance and memorisation of movement in ‘set’ choreography. Drawing from established discourses between dance and somatic practices, philosophy, anatomy, visual perception and the moving image, this research explores the imagination as a phenomenon that is anchored in the body’s sensations and perceptions.
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    Re-imagining political theatre for the twenty-first century
    Caceres, Leticia ( 2012)
    One of key struggles of the globalised twenty-first century is against the disempowerment of the individual imagination. I believe that the challenge for the political theatre director is to stimulate and disturb the imagination of audiences in order to re-awaken critical thought. In so doing, audiences can picture what has been untold or become unimaginable, and thus, be prompted to action. By directing a theatrical production of War Crimes by Angela Betzien, I attempted to re-envision Brechtian techniques by fusing them with popular cultural forms in order to challenge and reawaken the imagination of audiences. In turn, I also attempted to subvert common assumptions about the form and content of contemporary political theatre. The accompanying exegesis provides an analysis of my creative practice and my thinking on the currency and relevance of political theatre, particularly for young audiences. I contextualize my practical work through an interrogation of the techniques I applied in my production of War Crimes in order to consolidate and affirm the role of political theatre in the twenty-first century.