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Palgrave Macmillan

William Forsythe’s Postdramatic Dance Theater

Unsettling Perception

  • Book
  • © 2023

Overview

Authors:
  1. Freya Vass

    1. Drama and Theatre, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

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  • The first English language monograph on the works and working methods of William Forsythe
  • Underscores how dance/theatre performances can be read as experimental perceptual research
  • Provides in-depth cognitive analysis of postdramatic theatre's choreo-scenography

Part of the book series: Cognitive Studies in Literature and Performance (CSLP)

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About this book

This book takes choreographer William Forsythe’s choreographic and scenographic processes as a holistic lens through which to view dance as a fundamentally visuo-sonic art form and choreography as a form of perceptual experimentation. In doing so, it reveals how the made worlds within which postdramatic dance is situated influence how choreography is perceived. Resonating with ecological perspectives but also drawing on an extensive range of cognitive research approaches, the volume’s choreo-scenographic perspective emphasizes the importance of considering the expanded scenography of lighting, sound, space, scenic elements, costume, and performer movement when analyzing the sensory and cognitive perception of dance. The volume provides a first book-length cognitive study of both an individual choreographer and the aesthetics of postdramatic theatre. It also satisfies a need for more dedicated scholarship on Forsythe, whose extensive and varied array of groundbreaking ballets and dance theater works for the Ballett Frankfurt (1984-2004), The Forsythe Company (2005-15), and as an independent choreographer have made him a key figure in 20th/21st century dance.  

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
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  2. Introduction

    • Freya Vass
    Pages 1-25

  3. Part I

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 27-31
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    2. Tenebrism: Seeing (in) the Dark

      • Freya Vass
      Pages 33-45

    3. Gloaming: Dimming and Visions

      • Freya Vass
      Pages 47-63

    4. Occlusion: Comings and Goings

      • Freya Vass
      Pages 65-75

    5. Hiding in Plain Sight: Simultaneity

      • Freya Vass
      Pages 77-90

  4. Part II

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 91-94
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    2. Quiet: Hush, Caesurae, and Deep Silence

      • Freya Vass
      Pages 95-119

    3. Lull: Ostinati and Drones

      • Freya Vass
      Pages 121-137

    4. Overwhelm: Audio-Visual Stress

      • Freya Vass
      Pages 139-150

  5. Part III

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 151-155
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    2. Visuosonic Counterpoint: Seeing Music and Hearing Dance

      • Freya Vass
      Pages 157-179

    3. Breath Scores and Corporeal Sounds: Dance as Symphony

      • Freya Vass
      Pages 181-201

    4. Auditory Turn: Vocal Choreography

      • Freya Vass
      Pages 203-219

    5. Epilogue

      • Freya Vass
      Pages 221-231

  6. Back Matter

    Pages 233-271
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Authors and Affiliations

  • Drama and Theatre, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

    Freya Vass

About the author

Freya Vass is a Lecturer in Drama and Theatre at the University of Kent, UK, and a freelance dance dramaturg. Her principal research interests include cognitive dance studies, dance dramaturgy, performativity, devising, and arts-sciences interdisciplinarity. A former professional dancer with companies in Europe and the US, she holds a PhD in Dance History and Theory and was Dramaturg and Production Assistant for The Forsythe Company from 2006 – 2013.  

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