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In Conversation: Ballet Education & Body Image

Graphic by Joel Johnson
Friday, March 26, 2021
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Courtney Liu
In Conversation

Courtney Liu '13, Broadway dancer and member of the inaugural cohort of Duke's MFA in Dance, will present "SylphSense: Flow States, Body Image, and Ballet," her choreographic and pedagogical masters research on flow states and their relation to body image and eating disturbances. Liu will share how her dance instruction and choreographic inquiry have worked in tandem to uncover unexpected revelations. This presentation is ideal for dancers, artists, and researchers who are interested in flow states, body image, pedagogy, and how the creative process can inspire and influence other forms of academic inquiry. The program includes Liu's research, excerpts from her performance for this work, and, in closing, a brief Q & A.

"As a teacher, I am striving to use language that is focusing on function rather than aesthetic. So instead of talking about a certain body part-like the stomach or thighs-I talk about the function behind the lifting up off the legs, or the function behind engaging the stomach."-Courtney Liu quoted in "Real Talk About How Body Dysmorphia Affects Dancers," Dance Spirit Magazine