Meaning: Using Dramaturgy to find meaning in movement.

A Master Class with Katherine Profeta

Katherine Profeta leads a seminar/workshop considering "meaning" in choreographic work, a variety of ways in which movement might "mean" something, and the relation of narrative to meaning. It culminates with students devising very short bits of choreography and considering a sequence; students are invited to experiment even further with these ingredients on their own.

Here’s how this workshop works...

This is a one-hour online class that you will have access to in your own time and space, and will be able to access again and again, as you wish, though an internet connection. We ask that you not share this as a teaching tool, or send to others, on an honor system.

What will you experience?

This class explores meaning as it relates to dance-making. Is the “meaning” of a dance what resonates as a performer as they are executing it or is it communicated to the audience? Katherine poses this question along with introducing three modes of relationship that narrative has to movement. Movement that encourages narrative (it is obvious), movement that unfolds an emotional state/state of being, and movement that resists narrative. Participants are then asked to create three phrases that respond to each of these modes of relationship of narrative to movement.

An important takeaway from this session is the ability to look at concrete examples of dance and decide which mode it falls under. Katherine lists some examples (i.e. Graham’s Lamentation falls under movement that unfolds in an emotional state). From there, participants learn to apply these modes to something that they create themselves.

You will leave this class having a deeper understanding of the relationship between movement and narrative. Katherine says that since dance is a time art, the meaning is in motion and can evolve during the dance.

About Katherine

Katherine Profeta is a NYC dramaturg who has worked with choreographer/visual artist Ralph Lemon since 1997. She is also a founding member and longtime choreographer with the New York City theater company Elevator Repair Service, having lent her hand to the majority of its productions 1991-2015. Other collaborators over the years, both recent and long-past, include Alexandra Beller, Nora Chipaumire, Karin Coonrod, Annie Dorsen, Julie Taymor, David Thomson, Ni’Ja Whitson, and Theater for a New Audience. She was proud to be a dramaturg with the Urban Bush Women Choreographic Center Initiative in 2017-18. Profeta holds an MFA and DFA in dramaturgy from the Yale School of Drama, where she is currently a Professor in the Practice of Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism. Publications include her 2015 book Dramaturgy In Motion, which explored the nature of dance and movement dramaturgy in light of her extended collaboration with Lemon.

FAQs

Q: How do I access the class?

A: You will be sent a PDF with a password to view the class on Vimeo.

Q: Can I download this content?

A: The class is not for download, but the link to access it through Vimeo will remain valid in the future in case you wish to revisit the class.

Q: Can I share this class with others or use it for teaching?

A: We kindly request that this single purchase class is for your use only. If you wish to license it for academic purposes or group sharing, please reach out and we can arrange an agreement to allow you to use it for large audiences, with the permission of the teacher.