Phenomenology of Dance: Merleau-Ponty versus Sheets-Johnston
Abstract
This study takes as its starting point the core of the Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology: the body lived in relation to the objective body and the habitual body. From it derives the relation between the bodily space and the space of things, as well as the lived movement – the true origin of dance-, and the mere change of place.
This article begins by contrasting the aforementioned nucleus with the Valery’s conception of dance. Both of them consider it to be the art of bodily movement, but the phenomenologist goes further by understanding the body as the source of symbolism and creative expression. I will show the peculiar relationship between dance, motor skills and perception. With the help of the phenomenology of genesis, I will discuss Sheets-Johnston’s thesis that it is impossible to see oneself dancing. We will conclude by describing the rhythm of the dance as a universal expression of the movement.
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