Towards the Transformed Body: the Case Study of "Unshelved"

This research explores the notion of the transformed body through the case study of Unshelved. The production of Unshelved serves as a vehicle to investigate the depth and extent of different performance dance inscriptions, traditional and contemporary, embedded in the body. This research is structured in Episodes. Episode One deals with how my identity as an Ewe Ghanaian boy was constructed and expressed through my traditional dance, and how this identity formed the base on which other identities were realized in interactions with some cultures and their dance forms. Episode Two introduces my contemporary experience in South Africa and how my already codified Ghanaian body reacted to this experience. Episode Three unravels my journey through five identified societal structures and how interactions with these structures inscribed upon my body. Societal structures are deconstructed in the creative research project Unshelved. Episode Four deals with the methodology used in the research as it investigates how materials can be excavated from the body. Episode five defines the notion of the transformed body through a hybrid of practices that acknowledges a multi layered contemporary body.