Research Catalogue

A PhD that redefines performance through the somatic politics of touch and attention. In an era grappling with profound disconnection and global crises, this PhD Thesis offers a hopeful counter-narrative, proposing that our very modes of perception are powerful political agents. Through a unique somatic, touch-based artistic research, it redefines choreography as the art of attending, moving beyond traditional visual dominance to cultivate a deeper, multi-sensorial engagement. Structured in three parts, this thesis traces a journey from Context & Definitions to The Somatic Costume Dressing Room, and finally to the performance of Give Them Wings & We Shall See Their Faces. Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Somatic Costume Dressing Room serves as a core methodology—a haptic-focused process where costumes are co-designed in the moment based on the wearer's arising psychophysical needs. The final performance, Give Them Wings & We Shall See Their Faces, introduces Travellers (guided by touch with eyes closed) and Witnesses (engaging visually). Their experiences reveal how the primacy of touch reshapes our sense of time, place, and meaning-making through Poetic Material-ity. This approach challenges ocularcentrism, offering a modern eye remedy by integrating vision anew through tactile and auditory foundations. Woven throughout the entire thesis are Somatic Acts, poetic, embodied invitations for the reader. These acts are more than just exercises; they are integral to the research, bridging theory and practice with sensory experience to make the thesis a participatory, felt journey. Ultimately, this research advocates for a quiet yet profound political act: using somatic practice and costume to cultivate a more holistic way of being in the world. Costume, in this context, transcends mere adornment; it becomes a core choreographic practice, a `Somatic Costume Landscape´ that fosters intimacy, agency, and embodied connection. It offers a vital path to resilience and resistance, redefining what performance can be by returning to the body's felt experience and a non-striving form of attention.