Instructor: Lynette Hunter, Department of Theatre & Dance, College of Letters and Science
Description: For the past twelve years I have been extending my performance work (especially from ‘Bodies in trouble’ (1997)) by training in a traditional Chinese Physical Culture (CPC) program accredited by the Chinese Wushu Association. This CPC program offers a syllabus unique to most other Anglo-American systems of traditional Chinese training in performance skills, in that the syllabus is exceptionally broad and includes work on movement, dance, breath, voice, energy, interaction, choreography, and is combined with training in a western coaching curriculum that addresses the key fields in sports education to do with musculature, body alignment, nutrition and psychology.This course is offered as an opportunity to explore the impact of Chinese physical culture and to develop ways of talking about its contribution to knowledge.The course proposes to introduce students to the basics of traditional Chinese physical culture as taught by the Weihai Lishi Quan Fa. The exploration will involve discussion and exploration of the primary concepts informing the program, practical work in dance laboratory conditions, and integration of practice with conceptual analysis.
Format: Students will need to keep a weekly journal of their learning, to demonstrate appropriate familiarity with and expression of physical skills, and to write one 1500 word essay on a topic agreed with me. The classes cover: Tai Ch’i Ch’uan, Stances (movements), Kaimen (Chinese yoga), Dao Yin (breathing exercises), Pushing exercises, Chi expressions (energy work), partner work and some elements of Feng Shou (Hand of the Wind). Because the learning is cumulative and integrated, most of these elements are introduced during the first two weeks and then extended over the following eight weeks of the term. The lab work is accompanied by discussion of the physiological impact of the exercises. The aim is to achieve basic proficiency by week seven, so that the final three weeks can focus on the student developing ideas related to the conceptual part of the course. Students will need to keep a weekly journal of their learning, to demonstrate appropriate familiarity with and expression of physical skills, and to write one 1500-word essay on a topic agreed with me.
Discussion will address topics in my current research, to do with
Traditional systems of knowledge
History and mythology
Cultural contexts
Physiological understanding
Contemporary applications in 1) theatre and performance and 2) the community.
General Background Resource texts:
Kleinman, S. ed Mind and Body: East meets West. Illinois: Human Kinetics Publishers, 1986.
Kohn, L. and H. Roth eds, Daoist Identity: history, lineage and ritual. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 2002
MacDonald, G. Illustrating Alexander Technique. London: Harper Collins, 1998.
Richards, T. At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions. London: Routledge, 1995.
Watson, I. Performer Training: Developments across cultures. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers, 2001.
Grading:
Weekly journal: 25%
Practical skills: assessed in week seven 25%
Application of practical skills: assessed in week ten 25%
Essay (1500 words): 25%
About the Instructor: Professor Lynette Hunter joined the department of Theatre and Dance in 2003. Having worked in various disciplines such as biochemistry, computing, publishing and printing history, philosophy, literature and cultural studies, she has written a number of books on the history of rhetoric within these areas. Her current interests lie both in the history of performance and in the contemporary applications of performance not only in the arts and humanities but also in health, education, sports, management, medicine and the law. She has trained in the Weihai Li Shi Quan Fa under Desmond Murray for ten years.