A\u00a0discussion has arisen about the\u00a0use of\u00a0the\u00a0term \u2018devising\u2019 and\u00a0its various possible functions and\u00a0applications in\u00a0each of\u00a0the\u00a0very different dance-making processes we are witnessing here. I\u00a0am sharing a\u00a0(short and\u00a0slightly modified) section of\u00a0my\u00a0previous research as\u00a0part of\u00a0my\u00a0PhD thesis which might be of\u00a0interest here:<\/p>\n
The\u00a0verb \u2018to\u00a0devise\u2019 readily refers to\u00a0the\u00a0actions of\u00a0\u201cplanning\u201d or\u00a0\u201cinventing\u201d and\u00a0stems originally from the\u00a0Old French word deviser<\/em>, derived from the\u00a0Latin devisare\/dividere <\/em>(to\u00a0divide, distribute, distinguish). In\u00a0the\u00a0Old French the\u00a0verb \u2018to\u00a0devise\u2019 initially kept its etymological meaning, but through a\u00a0semantic slip took on\u00a0the\u00a0meaning of\u00a0\u201cto\u00a0order\u201d, \u201cto\u00a0organise\u201d. When no longer only applied to\u00a0material objects but also to\u00a0events, the\u00a0verb began to\u00a0be used in\u00a0the\u00a0sense of\u00a0\u201cplanning\u201d or\u00a0\u201cmaking a\u00a0plan or\u00a0a\u00a0project\u201d (in\u00a0French, un devis<\/em>). It was also assumed into intellectual discourses, in\u00a0which it was used in\u00a0the\u00a0sense of\u00a0\u201cto\u00a0organise (a\u00a0discourse)\u201d. Through another semantic slip in\u00a0the\u00a0Old French, deviser <\/em>took on\u00a0the\u00a0meaning of\u00a0\u201cto\u00a0meditate\u201d, and\u00a0then \u201cto\u00a0imagine\u201d, \u201cto\u00a0create in\u00a0the\u00a0mind\u201d. Finally it was also used in\u00a0the\u00a0sense of\u00a0\u201cto\u00a0wish for\u201d. Modern French has lost most of\u00a0the\u00a0medieval usages of\u00a0the\u00a0term, and\u00a0deviser <\/em>now means \u201cto\u00a0converse\u201d, while in\u00a0Swiss French, interestingly, it means \u201cto\u00a0reckon\u201d.<\/p>\n Evidence derived from contemporary practices would suggest that much of\u00a0the\u00a0French medieval usage of\u00a0the\u00a0term still prevails in\u00a0the\u00a0current English usage. The\u00a0New Shorter Oxford Dictionary <\/em>entry for\u00a0\u201cdevise\u201d lists a\u00a0number of\u00a0definitions that correspond to\u00a0its French root \u2013 something that strikes me as\u00a0significant with regard to\u00a0the\u00a0application of\u00a0the\u00a0term within performance-making, as\u00a0distinct from the\u00a0performance genre identified as\u00a0\u2018devised theatre\u2019. The\u00a0notion of\u00a0dividing, distributing and\u00a0distinguishing, as\u00a0set out above, seems to\u00a0me to\u00a0signal actions, in\u00a0performance-makers, that are patterned, logically consistent, with implications for\u00a0the\u00a0ways \u2018composition\u2019 is made in\u00a0performance-making, or\u00a0likewise \u2018choreographic process\u2019 is understood in\u00a0dance-making. Building on\u00a0these definitions, I\u00a0have then used the\u00a0verb \u2018to\u00a0devise\u2019 as\u00a0a\u00a0synonym for\u00a0the\u00a0verb \u2018to\u00a0invent\u2019, as\u00a0Gregory Ulmer understands it in\u00a0the\u00a0text entitled Heuretics: The\u00a0Logic of\u00a0Invention<\/em>.<\/p>\n It seems to me that the term can be applied to the different processes we are witnessing here in various ways, and it allows us to look at how performance material emerges. With regard to Martin\u2019s thoughts on \u2018character\u2019, what interests me here is how \u2018invention\u2019 takes place. What \u2018roles\u2019 are the dancers given in each process and how does the choreographer’s ‘signature’ (S. Melrose) emerge? Are the dancers asked to provide technical skills for a pre-conceived movement that they should emotionally invest in? In what ways do their personal qualities come into play? Are they asked to \u2018invent\u2019 movement sequences?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A\u00a0discussion has arisen about the\u00a0use of\u00a0the\u00a0term \u2018devising\u2019 and\u00a0its various possible functions and\u00a0applications in\u00a0each of\u00a0the\u00a0very different dance-making processes we are witnessing here. I\u00a0am sharing a\u00a0(short and\u00a0slightly modified) section of\u00a0my\u00a0previous research as\u00a0part of\u00a0my\u00a0PhD thesis which might be of\u00a0interest here: The\u00a0verb \u2018to\u00a0devise\u2019 readily… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":485,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions\/485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}