Date of Completion

5-8-2015

Degree Type

Honors Thesis - Campus Access

Discipline

Dance (DANC)

First Advisor

Judith M. Scalin

Abstract

Finding Flow: Infusing Passion into Performance is a performance thesis in partial completion of the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. It was catalyzed by my experience dancing in Israel during the summer of 2014 amidst the anxieties of war and even a bomb alarm at the kibbutz where I was dancing. I found that my ability to reach a state of flow, defined by Psychologist Mihaly Csiksentmihaly as moments of optimal performance, was heightened in the high-stress environment of wartime Israel. Upon return to LMU in the Fall 2014 semester, I crafted my thesis around the idea of flow: how could I achieve it, what factors contributed to or hindered its existence and frequency, and how did those moments affect me as a dancer and a person.

My methods of studying this uniquely rich and invigorating experience ranged form personal contact with it through rehearsal and performance, journaling about my observations, and writing a research paper focusing on the benefits of dance during wartime, as well as the effect of wartime on individual dancers' experiences. Analyzing my performance and myself as an artist also contributed to my greater understanding of dance's role in my life and the importance of the moments of flow that was the emphasis of the research.

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