The Body and the Scene

Territories of the Aesthetic-cognitive Experience in the Artistic Practice of Dance

Abstract

The discussion about the subject of Sublimation is articulated, complex and rigorous. These pages deliberately address the issue indirectly in the attempt to add useful elements to the critical analysis from the point of view of who, as choreographer and performer, is devoted to the artistic practice of dance. My observations therefore concern the two constituent elements of the choreographic act: the body and the scene.The'body' as territory of the creative and cognitive experience of the dancer-choreographer: here I try to render, from my personal experience, that which is intimate in the creative and generative process of the choreographic act. The 'scene' as territory of the aesthetic- cognitive experience of the spectator-witness: the attempt here is to provide, as careful observer of the performative act, reflections about the role of the spectator in the performative dialectics. Both perspectives investigate the relationship between dance and thought, and, incidentally, between the body and the mind.