Choreographing Empathy: Kinesthesia in Performance

by Susan Leigh Foster

"This is an urgently needed book as the question of choreographing behavior enters into realms outside of the aesthetic domains of theatrical dance, Susan Foster writes a thoroughly compelling argument." Andre Lepecki, New York University

"May well prove to be one of Susan Foster s most important works." Ramsay Burt, De Montford University, UK

What do we feel when we watch dancing? Do we "dance along" inwardly? Do we sense what the dancer s body is feeling? Do we imagine what it might feel like to perform those same moves? If we do, how do these responses influence how we experience dancing and how we derive significance from it?

Choreographing Empathy challenges the idea of a direct psychophysical connection between the body of a dancer and that of their observer. In this groundbreaking investigation, Susan Foster argues that the connection is in fact highly mediated and influenced by ever-changing sociocultural mores.

Foster examines the relationships between three central components in the experience of watching a dance the choreography, the kinesthetic sensations it puts forward, and the empathetic connection that it proposes to viewers. Tracing the changing definitions of choreography, kinesthesia, and empathy from the 1700s to the present day, she shows how the observation, study, and discussion of dance have changed over time. Understanding this development is key to understanding corporeality and its involvement in the body politic.

Genres: Art

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2010

Reviews

[Madelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

“As bodies and digital technologies increasingly permeate and inhabit one another, corporeality is being redefined not only through prosthetic devices such as the cellphone, but also through the pervasiveness of digital images generated by film and photographic cameras and by the ability of those images to circulate globally through multiple genres of the screen”