ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author discusses an effort which links several bodies of thought in an attempt to theorize embodied knowledge through choreographic practice. He explains how choreography and performance are modes of research which address questions about embodiment including the corporeal quality of oral speech and, subsequently, the role of oral history as a documentation methodology for dance as an art form. The richness of choreographic representation is augmented through fine-tuning the balance and contrast between communication channels: kinesthetic, verbal, and semantic. In 1994 the author introduces performing excerpts from the collection in a solo performance work titled Muscle Memory. The initial juxtaposition of familiar spatial path/gestural movement and new text provides audiences with a didactic experience of the memory process. Embedding every utterance in social relations provides a frame for the author interest in how choreography functions as a tool in performances of Muscle Memory.
