Song of the Cuckoo by Joost Vrouenraets

How are madness, the spine and Hamlet related to each other in a choreographic process? This exposition displays the collection of documentation of the research. The exposition functions as the contextual backbone for the project 'Song of the Cuckoo', an experimental Practice as Research project in the form of a soliloquy performed by two dancers: Joany Uranka; dancer, assistent researcher, co-creator and myself. The nexus of the project is formed by the three strands originating from (1) an understanding of madness as a performative concept and philosophical perception, a phenomenon of indwelling and study of the transformative nature of creativity, supported by Michel Foucault's thesis History of Madness,(2) the human spine as a choreographic, kinesthetic, (imaginative) anatomical concept as well as an existential metaphor for the idea of becoming, inspired by the embryological phases of birth. And (3), Shakespeare's play Hamlet which is researched as a poetic, literary source functioning as the main inspiration and theatrical search of the totality of the project. The appearance of the character Ophelia in this play is re-purposed and re-imagined for the construction of the narrative and dramaturgical line of the project. The symbolical interpretations of the flowers which Ophelia gives to other characters in the play are translated into specific emotional and physical states of the performance. The nexus of the project is experimentally embodied by the author of the project and research, myself. The project itself is a practice as research on the above described research question, as well as an emerging meta-reflection on the relation between the author and his work.

Branagh, K. (1996) Hamlet. Kate Winslet singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74YTzl7vFEs

Flute improvisation by Joost Vrouenraets

R e f e r e n c e s

L i t e r a t u r e

Owen, J. (2015) Indwelling Sin in Believers. Chapter III. Gideon House Books.

Shakespeare, W. (1603) The Tragedie of HAMLET, Prince of Denmarke; a FAscimile from the First Folio. Shakespeare Globe.

Shakespeare, W. (1601) Hamlet. Wordsworth Classics

Whang, S. (2000) AN ACROBAT OF THE HEART, a physical approach to acting inspired by the work of Jerzy Grotwoski. A vintage Original.

Bloom, H. (2003) HAMLET: POEM UNLIMITED. Canongate Edinburgh London.

Campbell, J. (2008) THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. New World Library.

Preston-Dunlop, V. (2014) looking at dances. The Noverre Press.

Fitt, S.S. (1988) Dance kinesiology. Schirmer Books.

Thompson, A. Taylor, N. (2016) Hamlet A CRITICAL READER. Bloomsbury.

Wangh, S. (2000) AN ACROBAT OF THE HEART. A Vintage Original.

Artaud, A. (1958) THE THEATER AND ITS DOUBLE. Grove Press.

Foucault, M. (2006, 2009) History of Madness. Routledge.

Nelson, R. (2013) PRACTICE AS RESEARCH IN THE ARTS. Palgrave Macmillan.

McCulloch, L. Shaw, B. (2019) The Oxford handbook of Shakespeare and dance. Oxford University Press.

Dziewior, Y. Goldberg, R. Storr, R. (...) ZHANG HUAN. Phaidon.

Artaud, A. (1987) Van Gogh de zelfmoordenaar door de maatschappij. Gerards & Schreurs.

Baas, J. Jacob, M.J. (2004) Buddha Mind in Contemporary Art. University of California Press.

Jodorowsky, A. Costa, M. (2004) LA VOIE DU TAROT. Albin Michel.

Parsons, M. (2000) The Dove that Returns, The Dove that Vanishes. Routledge.

Leder, D. (1990) The absent body. The University of Chicago.

Etlin, R.A. (1996) In Defense of Humanism. Cambridge University Press.

Abulafia, Y. (2016) The Art of Light on Stage. Routledge.

American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Arlington, V A, American Psychiatric Association, 2013.

V i d e o

Godmilow, J. (1980) WITH JERZY GROTOWSKY, Nienadówka. Facets Multi-Media.

Branagh, K. (1996) Hamlet. David Barron.

Nelson, R. (2017) From Practitioner to Practitioner-Researcher. Johannes Birringer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_zECePVyUY

Bloom, H. (2003) in-depth interpretation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Manufacturing Intellect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvU8lG6XoF0

Berlinger, J. (2019) Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. Elastic Gigantic Studios Outpost Digital.

Paxton, S. Andrien, B. Corin, F. (2008-2019) Material for the Spine. Contredanse.

Reed, D. (2019) Leaving Neverland. Dan Reed.

A r t i c l e s

Overmann, K.A. (2014) Cartesian Dualism, Real and Literary Madness in the Regency, and the Mind and Madness in Austen's Novels.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259562489_Cartesian_dualism_real_and_literary_madness_in_the_Regency_and_the_mind_and_madness_in_Austen%27s_novels
Clark, J.R. Motto, A.L. (1992) The Paradox of Genius and Madness: Seneca and his influence.
Cuadernos de Filología Clásica. Estudios latinos. n 2. Editorial Complutense.
https://www.google.com/url?
sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiTi9iQkN3iAhXGGuwKHWyCBYkQFjAAegQIAxAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Frevistas.ucm.es%2Findex.php%2FCFCL%2Farticle%2FviewFile%2FCFCL9292120189A%2F34885&usg=AOvVaw3TKQJcQbfZuF4cGIe-MWnI
Turi, Z. (2010) “Border Liners”. The Ship of Fools Tradition in Sixteenth-Century England. http://journals.openedition.org/trans/421

Audio

Tip

Tip