Bruce Walczyk, associate professor of dance, gave the first presentaion in the spring faculty lecture series. He spoke on the topic "Function as Art and Art as Function: The Transformation of Martial Art and Pedestrian Movement into Traditional and Contemporary Choreography and the other way around," on Friday, Feb. 27. The lecture was sponsored by the Dean of Faculty's Office.
His presentation addressed how functional forms of movement are abstracted into an artistic context and how an artistic approach can enhance the experience of functional movement. Walczyk explained, "Similar to examples of visual art, starting out as objects for utilitarian use, movements from combat are practiced traditionally in many cultures as artistic performance."
The Malaysian concept "Dari Bunga Datang Buah" or from the flower comes the fruit illustrates this point of view. On the other hand, examples such as the Japanese Tea Ceremony brings an awareness and attention to every day activity that is often overlooked and taken for granted.
In addition to demonstrating some of the movements himself, Walczyk had two students who performed and showed video clips to illustrate how these ideas have been established and blended into contemporary Choreography.
