Aristotle and Husserl go dancing: Solo improvised dance-making and the noetic cycle

Abstract

This article asserts that the practice of dance improvisation is the embodiment of the noetic cycle, the cyclical relationship of two theories of noesis, Aristotle’s and Husserl’s. Aristotle describes noesis as the thinking and planning of work to be done. Husserl’s noesis describes the reception of sensuous information and the translation of that information into actionable data. Using videos of my solo release-based improvised dancing in the studio, I discuss how each theory of noesis is present in practice. These theories of noesis, when seen as complementary to one another, reveal improvised dance making as arising from the interrelationship of awareness and action. The noetic cycle provides dance makers with more theoretical lenses for researching dance and shows that dance is a testing ground and the means for philosophical inquiry.