The knowing body-in-action in performing arts: embodiment, experiential transformation, and intersubjectivity

Abstract

The body, its lived experience, and its embodied knowledge are fundamental in all everyday human practices. Artistic practices do not constitute an exception in this regard, not to mention, more particularly, those concerning performing arts, such as music, theater, opera, and dance. A consideration of the bodily and embodied nature of artistic performance not only sheds light on the raison d’etre of various artistic practices, but also contributes to enlightening the entanglement between propositional knowledge and practical competence, or know-how. Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly from a sociological point of view, it illuminates the interplay between shared knowledge and know-how, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the collective production as well as the social enjoyment of performative artworks —both of which are heavily grounded in intersubjectivity.