Salazar Sutil, N (2014) Mathematics in Motion: a Comparative Analysis of the Stage Works of Schlemmer and Kandinsky at the Bauhaus. Dance Research, 32 (1). pp. 23-42. ISSN 0264-2875
Abstract
This essay looks at the seminal work of Bauhaus practitioners Wassily Kandinksy and Oskar Schlemmer in terms of their multidisciplinary approach to the performing arts, and the dance in particular. Whilst their contribution has been widely recognized in terms of a cross-pollination of ideas from the fine arts to the performing arts, this essay also addresses the influence that compositional methods, based on techniques derived from figural drawing, as well as the study of form and geometry, might have had in their choreographic practice. I argue that despite stylistic similarities, these works present a divergent approach to the question of a geometrized motion design, which Schlemmer called ‘mathematics in motion’. I discuss the concept of ‘abstract dance’ promoted by Kandinsky, in terms of a visualistic method, where movement is rendered both as a succession of still images and as an imaginary process. Schlemmer, on the other hand, promoted a synthesis of abstract and physical, as part of a model for live performance known as ‘balletic mathematics’. I expand on this distinction in terms of a differential sense schematic approach to movement, one being visual, the other proprioceptive. Landmark works produced by these artists during the Bauhaus years (1922–1933) are called upon as case studies, including Kandinsky's Dance Curves (after Gret Palucca), and Schlemmer's renowned Stäbetanz.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2014 Society for Dance Research. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Dance Research. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > Performance and Cultural Industries (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 29 Jul 2016 08:50 |
Last Modified: | 19 Jan 2018 19:43 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/drs.2014.0085 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Edinburgh University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.3366/drs.2014.0085 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:102195 |