Choreography as Concept, Dancing as Material

Abstract

This article approaches the conceptual-material bind in artistic process through the early work of Meg Stuart. It has been well-documented that the conceptual work in the recent dance avant-garde turns anew to the materiality of the form as a means to unhinge what we think we know about dance and choreography (Lepecki 2004, Cvejić 2015). 'Choreography as Concept, Dancing as Material' takes a new approach, considering the historical context including the mid-century emergence of conceptual art in artists' writing and practice, and Stuart as a pioneer of the most recent activity in this aesthetic lineage (Flynt 1963, Laermans and Stuart 2001). As a term, 'conceptual' dance is as contentious as 'contemporary' dance. While the term 'conceptual' emerged in visual art, according to Peter Osborne, "as both a critical-curatorial category and a form of practical artistic self-understanding," it has never been taken up so broadly or confidently in dance studies, dance as creative practice, or programming (Osborne 2002, p.18). Debates around the conceptual as it relates to dance, and the associated art historical and trans-disciplinary binary that sets concepts against materials, throws light on a much broader field of experimental practices. This article unpacks what conceptual meant when it emerged from the intermedial historical period in art between the early 1960s and early 1970s, how it has been used in relation to recent experimental dance, and the usefulness of these discourses in understanding current choreographic practices that interface with the visual arts, turning to Stuart's contribution to This Is the Show and the Show Is Many Things / Extra Muros (1994).