Considering Bullough's theory of psychical distancing and notions of Essay

Considering Bulloughs theory of psychical distancing and notions of kinaesthetic empathy (Stolnitz etc.), discuss the extent - Essay ExampleTwo scholars in particular dominated this debate in the early(a) to mid-twentieth century and this paper explores each of their theories in turn first Bulloughs theory of psychical distance and secondly Stolnitzs theory of kinaesthetic empathy . The oral communication of these two authors is quite technical and so definition and clarification of the terms they use in each case is necessary before the theories can be understood in depth. In the light of these two approaches and some more recent critiques of them, there is then a consideration of the extent to which the choreographer can tackle to shape or control the viewers degree of attention, and in particular whether or not it is possible to create the conditions within an audience for disparate levels of attention. A key element in the work of Stolnitz is the idea that when we look at thi ngs in the world we always do so with a true attitude, by which he means that we devote more attention to some things and less to others and that this varies from person to person and from one occasion to another. He uses the example of an Indian scout giving close attention to markings (Stolnitz, 1960, p. 17) as someone at the more focused end of this spectrum whereas someone just out for a prom would be at a the less focused end. This state of giving something close attention involves excluding other things which might be a distraction and preparing to counterbalance to what is seen, either in a positive or negative way. The relevance of this to dance is that when an audience comes to watch dance being performed they come with a modified kind of attitude, involving focus and hopefully a positive expectation of perceiving something worthwhile that they will react to in some way. This kind of expectant appreciation is, in Stolnitzs terms the aesthetic attitude, deriving from anci ent Greek philosophy where aesthetics is the appreciation of beauty. A further important distinction, in Stolnitzs view, of this redundant attitude and way of perceiving things is that it is quite different from everyday kinds of perception, because it is not put to some practical purpose Usually perception is merely a quick and momentary identification of the kind of thing it is and its uses. (Stolnitz, 1960, p. 18) In contrast to this Stolnitz defines the aesthetic attitude as disinterested and sympathetic attention to and contemplation of any quarry of awareness whatever, for its own sake alone. (Stolnitz, 1960, p. 19). In ordinary modern English we might assume that disinterested means bored or not a lot interested in but in fact it has a narrower meaning of not wanting any specific purpose out of the act of paid attention something. In terms of dance, then, this aesthetic attitude is what comes into play when a member of the audience comes simply to observe and enjoy the p erformance. He or she whitethorn at times reflect on what is seen, or react with pleasure, or distaste, or even anger at what happens in the performance, but the point is that advent to see the dance is the only outcome that the observer is really after. The example of a lecturer coming to watch a student performance would not, in Stolnitzs view, be an example of someone approaching the dance with the appropriate aesthetic