The author attempts to define the role of the artist’s body in his/her creative actions, as well as the significance of the artist’s moves and the feeling of one’s own movements – the “sixth” or “muscular” sense, kinesthesia. For this purpose, the author examines the Russian avant-garde art. The project, both anthropological and artistic, involved the concept of the re-creation of a human being and the renewal of human senses. The new kind of “free”, “smooth” dance, introduced in Russia by Isadora Duncan, played an important role in the development of the avant-garde movement. Dance, body movement and physical culture contributed substantially to the project of “Life Bildung” – an attempt to improve everyday life by investing art in it. In shaping the new genre of performance art, the avant-garde artists also relied on their bodily movements and sensations.
This article discusses creative strategies employed by artists to redefine the role of visuality in the presentation and reception of dance. By doing it, they undermine the well-established aesthetic and interpretative approaches to the art of dance, focusing on perception mechanisms and sensory experiences of the audience. Four choreographic projects/installations are discussed in which audio, visual, and audiovisual media are used: an installation that designs the choreographic environment, a choreoauratic installation, a performance installation that uses the AR technology, and an immersive VR 3D 360° installation. They emphasise the proprioceptive and haptic experiences and the kinaesthetic awareness in the processes of creation and reception, concentrating on the body as the perceiving subject rather than the perceived object. Focusing on the viewer’s corporeal experience, they do not only step beyond the conventional visuality-based approach to dance but also broaden our thinking about its possible (and by definition sightcantered) audiovisual presentation, thus acknowledging a wider spectrum of sensory experiences.
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