Abstract:
Originally, the thesis question was based on a combination of the statement that architecture, like so many of the arts, communicates to people and the question; how does architecture communicate. Dance is an art form that is between the making of spaces and the making of poetry; moulding of space within, around and between bodies as well as between those bodies and the surrounding architectural surfaces and objects. A dancer perhaps understands the space of the body more deeply than an architect, whose profession is to create the shell for the space of the movement of the body, or perhaps the interface between the body and other types of space. Dance is the chosen circumstance because it is an art form about the space of the body as well as the spaces surrounding the body and because it is reactive to and expressive of sensory perception. Redefining the meaning of the act of dance through challenging the roles of the performer and the audience as well as their relation to one another became the motivation for space making throughout the design process in this thesis investigation. Life is a dance and an art form, in that the things we do all day long everyday are indicative and explicative of who we are. On the chosen site, the particular conditions are that the site is spatially set up as a focal point, as if it is in the center of rivers of vehicular traffic that is layered with pedestrian traffic as well. Challenging both the placement and definitions of audience/performer in relation to one another, by happenstance as well as by orchestration, is the way that this project attempts to redefine the act of dance.