M A Ï E U T I C S : how could the expansion of consciousness benefit dance practices ?

Abstract

This paper aims to relate my experience of the expansive benefits of the mindful embodiment of movement practices such as dance. I will explain in what manner movement phenomenology is applicable to dance and how this attitude relates to my artistic process. The piece Maïeutics is an allegory of the living, i.e. a concrete representation of the abstract idea of the meaning of existence. Hence, the title itself entails the Socratic art of bringing the human soul to birth through introspection to reach transcendental consciousness. Moreover, I am using the Platonic ideology Têchnè to re-investigate the essence of acquired techniques and knowledge through movement reflexivity according to the study of their phenomenons in active meditations. The choreographic work is an extension of a movement practice I developed in 2020 entitled Transcendental Embodiment (TTE) where I reflect on the holistic experience of moving through conscientious corporeality, phenomenological and metaphysical inquiries. By metaphysical I mean the undeniable relationships between the tangible (physical) and intangible (psychological, emotional, energetical, and spiritual) bodies in the physical realm.