Abstract

This project presents an interpretation of what a 'human installation' could be, and a theoretical framework of the phenomenological aspects of meditative moving. The researcher worked with six dancers who underwent 8 months of training in 'meditative improvisation.' The training mainly focused on internal sensory experiences and imagery as scores for improvisational moving, as well as the meditative nature of introspective self-lead movement. After the training period, the dancers performed in a black box theatre in which their tasks were to follow some of the scores given in the training period while simultaneously responding to the audience. The audience members were allowed to walk freely through the space and interact with the performers by touching, making sounds, and moving alongside the dancers. An overarching theme of the project was to investigate the concept of the 'empty mind,' in which the body is responsible for the cognitive / thinking process. The researcher attempted to create this state of mind by initiating movement externally, so that the mover does not feel the need or pressure to 'express' ideas or 'create' movement on their own.