Experiences of time in boring dance

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    Abstract

    It is difficult to explain what makes some theatre dances boring, even if certain features seem to have a propensity to bore (excessive repetition or slowness, for example). A viewer’s cultural and psychological framework also plays a crucial role: aesthetic preferences and thresholds of endurance shape reactions, including reactions to dance that deliberately tests both. Moreover, an initial bored reaction can be transfigured into interest if the experience of boredom itself reveals something important about time and our relationship to it. This chapter explores the dynamics and limits of this shift, discussing the three levels of boredom identified by Martin Heidegger, the most profound of which (he argues) enables revelation of the fundamental nature of being. The chapter argues both that the situative nature of boredom in the theatre militates against recasting its metaphysical significance in Heideggerian vein, and that residual anxiety about finitude may ground justified resistance to the sustained reflection on duration demanded by some theatre dance.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationPerforming Time
    Subtitle of host publicationSynchrony and temporal flow in music and dance
    EditorsClemens Wöllner, Justin London
    PublisherOxford University Press
    Pages299-304
    ISBN (Print)9780192896254
    Publication statusPublished - 20 Jul 2023

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