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{{Short description|Pedagogical and artistic practice}}
{{Other uses|Viewpoint (disambiguation)}}
'''Viewpoints''' is a movement-based pedagogical and artistic practice<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Overlie |first=Mary |title=Standing in Space: The Six Viewpoints Theory & Practice |publisher=Fallon Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-5136-1361-1 |edition=1st |___location=Billings, Montana |pages=vii |language=English}}</ref> that provides a framework for creating and analyzing performance by exploring spatial relationships, shape, time, emotion, movement mechanics, and the materiality of the actor's body. Rooted in the domains of [[postmodern theatre]] and [[Choreography (dance)|dance composition]], the Viewpoints operate as a medium for thinking about and acting upon [[Motion (physics)|movement]], [[gesture]], and the creative use of space.<ref name="BogartLandau2004">{{cite book |last1=Bogart |first1=Anne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yk_6CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |title=The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition |last2=Landau |first2=Tina |date=1 August 2004 |publisher=Theatre Communications Group
== Background ==
The Six Viewpoints was originally developed in the 1970s by master theater artist and educator [[Mary Overlie]], later conceptualised in her book ''Standing in Space: The Six Viewpoints Theory & Practice'' (2016)''.'' Overlie's Viewpoints and practice are seen to contribute greatly to the [[Postmodernism|postmodern movement]] in theatre, dance, and choreography, grounded in its opposition against [[Modernism|modernism's]] emphasis on hierarchical structure in performance creation, fixed meaning, and linear narratives.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Perucci |first=Tony |date=19 December 2017 |title=On Stealing Viewpoints |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2017.1384188 |journal=Performance Research |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=121–123 |doi=10.1080/13528165.2017.1384188 |s2cid=194838101 |via=Tandfonline|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
A key principle of the Viewpoints practice is [[Horizontalidad|horizontalism]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Perucci |first=Tony |date=16 February 2015 |title=Dog Sniff Dog |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2015.991598 |journal=Performance Research |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=105–112 |doi=10.1080/13528165.2015.991598 |s2cid=192700051 |via=Tandfonline|url-access=subscription }}</ref> a distinct focus on a non-hierarchical organisation of the performance elements, meaning shared engagement with elements like space, body, text, time, shape, and emotion. The practice subsequently constitutes a shared agency of creation amongst performers and creators in working through the individual body and its surrounding material environment as part of a collective ensemble. The Viewpoints thus encourages the performer to incorporate their own bodily impulses and personal experiences in the act of creation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Perucci |first=Tony |date=31 August 2021 |title=The Viewpoints and the Secret of the Original Anarchist: Mary Overlie and the Undercommons |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2020.1930784 |journal=Performance Research |volume=25 |issue=8 |pages=95–100 |doi=10.1080/13528165.2020.1930784 |s2cid=239740721 |via=Tandfonline|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
The Six Viewpoints theory was adapted by directors [[Anne Bogart]] and [[Tina Landau]], ultimately resulting in the delineation of nine "physical" and five "vocal" Viewpoints. Bogart and Overlie were on the faculty of the Experimental Theatre Wing at [[New York University Tisch School of the Arts|NYU Tisch School of the Arts]] in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during which Bogart was influenced by Overlie's innovations. Overlie's Six Viewpoints are considered to be a methodology to examine, analyze, and create performance in non-hierarchised and deconstructed way, whilst Bogart's Viewpoints are considered practical in creating staging with actors.
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* The Original Anarchist: A New and a Very Old Idea<ref>{{Cite book |last=Overlie |first=Mary |title=Standing in Space: The Six Viewpoints Theory and Practice |publisher=Fallon Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-5136-1361-1 |edition=1st |___location=Billings, Montana |pages=66 |language=English}}</ref>
As a practice at large, The Six Viewpoints "is dedicated to reading the stage as a force of Nature".<ref name=":0" />
==Bogart's and Landau's Viewpoints==
In their book, ''The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition'' (2005), [[Anne Bogart]] and [[Tina Landau]] identify the primary Viewpoints as those relating to '''Time''' - which are Tempo, Duration, Kinesthetic Response, and Repetition - and those relating to '''Space''' - which are Shape, Gesture, Architecture, Spatial Relationship and Topography. In addition, Bogart and Landau have added the [[Vocal]] Viewpoints which include [[Pitch (music)|Pitch]], [[Dynamics (music)|Volume]], and [[Timbre]].<ref name=BogartLandau2004/>
In the book, the authors outline the basics of the Viewpoints training they both espouse, as well as specific methods for applying their expanded practice to both rehearsals and production. For Bogart and Landau, the Viewpoints represent not only a physical technique but also a philosophical, spiritual, and aesthetic approach to many aspects of their work. Bogart references her work with the [[SITI]] company, and Landau with the [[Steppenwolf Theater Company]].
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==Lineage and Influence on Viewpoints==
It is possible to trace several historical influences on Mary Overlie's Six Viewpoints, and subsequently on Anne Bogart's and Tina Landau's Viewpoints.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davidson |first1=Andrew |title=Identifying Eurhythmics in Actor Training: The Viewpoints of Time and Space |journal=Le Rythme: The Artistic Identity of Eurhythmics |date=2021 |volume=2021 |page=12 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.13887503}}</ref> There is a family resemblance between the non-hierarchical nature of the nine Viewpoints and the spiral or scaffolded nature of the Dalcroze Subjects in Dalcroze Eurhythmics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dalcroze Eurhythmics |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalcroze_eurhythmics |publisher=Wikipedia |access-date=29 December 2023}}{{circular reference|date=December 2023}}</ref> This practice was disseminated in New York City's dance and theatre scenes by Elsa Findlay in the early- to mid-twentieth century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Odom |first1=Selma |title=Researching Elsa Findlay: Dalcroze Teacher, Choreographer, Writer |journal=Le Rythme: Scientific Perspectives; Artistic Research and Theory |date=2019 |volume=2019 |
==Works cited==
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