Images from the Floating World : a concept for movement based in Zen aesthetics

The purpose of this thesis was the development of a concept for movement based in the qualities and aesthetic principles of certain Zen cultural forms. In a review of literature, the author examined the qualities of expression in both Chinese and Japanese Zen ink painting. Next, the examination was amplified by a study of the principles and qualities of "mai" dance in the Noh Theater of Japan. Then, the author created a dance, Images from the Floating World, based on seven qualities of Zen expression, and cited influences from the literature which effected its creation. The culmination of this choreographic thesis was the presentation of Images from the Floating World at Clarence Brown Theatre on March 11, 12, and 13, 1982.