Revelations, in Creation and Choreography: Alvin Ailey’s Application of Dance/Movement Therapy in Mending Cultural Trauma
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Authors
Shaw, Asya
Issue Date
2022-05-01
Type
thesis_open
Language
Keywords
Revelations , Alvin Ailey , blood memory , dance/movement therapy , cultural trauma , mirroring , empathy , performing arts , Dance
Dance Movement Therapy
Alternative Title
Dance/Movement Therapy Theses
Abstract
Alvin Ailey’s 1960’s ballet suite, Revelations, utilizes elements of dance/movement therapy theory and practice to inspire and encourage empathetic connection and communal togetherness within the performing arts arena. Through depictions of mirroring interventions and the utilization of blood memory as body memory, Alvin Ailey created a movement narrative of the African American experience to communicate the emotional spectrum of human life. In witnessing both sorrow and joy through performance, audiences journey through emotional polarities to find shared empathy and unification toward mending collective pains from systemic oppressions. Expanding beyond barriers of racism and cultural difference, Alvin Ailey’s Revelations communicates, choreographically and developmentally, the building of communal empathy and reconciliation through a story of shared cultural trauma and triumph.
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