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Research Articles

Dila Yumurtacı is a PhD candidate at Catolica University, Science and Technology in Arts. She investigates somatic practices in relation to Eco-consciousness. Interconnectedness and relationality are the main notions for her investigation to understand how they can be harnessed to create positive change in society.

In this thesis, I've found the opportunity to observe the body oriented and ephemeral nature of my own art practice which adopt the interdisciplinary approach of two intertwines fields: performance art and contemporary dance. The inevitable annihilation that follows creation made me contemplate about the relationship between art and life. I've recognize the fact, life beginning with birth, slowly approaches death, particularly observed in my works through food. The ephemeral, gradually rotting and perishing nature of food, just like that of a body and artwork, has led me to elaborate on the relationship between food and performance. While the inetraction of the body with space constituted the basis of my creations, the creation of a potential performance space, has emerged as the core element in my art practice.

In this paper, I will examine the relationship between the body and space in  Bauhaus Dance Theatre. First, I will indicate the ideals of Bauhaus, mainly the  concept of ‘total theater’ in relation with the ‘total work of art’  (Gesamtkuntswerk). My main intention is to investigate the laws of motion of the  human body in space manifested in Bauhaus Dances. I will portray some theories  of De Certeau and Laban concerning space and draw connections with ‘Man as  Dancer’ (tanzermensche). The perception of space and its impact on the  movements of the body will be given through Schlemmer’s article of ‘Man and  Art Figurine’, utilizing notions of the abstraction and the mechanization.  Lastly, I  will briefly analyze artificial figures in geometrical space in reference to  Schlemmer’s Triadic Ballet.

In this paper, I will investigate the relationship between Neoplatonism and  Renaissance Dance. My research covers the Neoplatonic notion of world  harmony and unity concerning the subject of Celestial Dance. On the other  hand, Phytagorean’s teachings suggested another concept of cosmos in  relation with numbers creating a harmony in music and dance. At the end of  the first chapter, I will examine Ficino’s Neoplatonism in Italian Renaissance  art and discuss its influences on the theory of Italian Renaissance Dance. In the second chapter, I will discuss the role of dance in figural composition  and its choreographic nature in reference to Alberti’s book, Della Pittura.  Later, I will summarize 15th century dance treatises by presenting their main  characteristics and terminology. I will also depict one of the great Masters of  dance, Guglielmo and his point of view concerning Renaissance dance.  In the last chapter, I will analyze Boticelli’s Primavera through the  Neoplatonic notion of world harmony and its influence on choreographic  capture. I will mainly focus on the depiction of Three Graces and Venus  regarding their explicit and implicit explanations in relation with  Neoplatonism and choreography.  

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