Choreographing Empathy

Foster, Susan

ISBN 10: 0415596556 / ISBN 13: 9780415596558

Published by Routledge, 2010

About this Item

Seller Inventory # I-9780415596558

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Choreographing Empathy
• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0415596556
• ISBN 13: 9780415596558
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

"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." – André 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.

About the Author

Susan Foster