Figurations de la prà©sence. Esthà©tiques corporelles, pratiques du geste et à©cologies des affects sur la scà¨ne performative contemporaine

Since the early 2000s, the concept of presence is at the core of a renewed interest in the performing arts field. This dissertation reviews recent theoretical debates and explores theatrical and choreographic works resonating with the corporeal and aesthetic qualities associated with this notion. Within a phenomenological framework, current definitions are reconsidered through the lenses of dance gesture analysis, expanding on the epistemology of somatic practices, the ecology of practices (Stengers 2005), and political focus on affects (Massumi 1995; 2015). The academic discourses are also examined through a brief outlook of the works, including Il Principe Amleto †" a piece by Italian actor and stage director Danio Manfredini. The pieces considered in the second part of the dissertation include Ouverture Alcina, a monologue by the Italian theatre company Teatro delle Albe; recent projects by Italian choreographer Virgilio Sieni; a dance performance entitled Dà©perdition, by French artist Myriam Gourfink; and a recent rerun of Xavier Le Roy's Self Unfinished within his project « Rà©trospective ». Each analysis emphasizes the physical and perceptive work of the performers and considers the artist's creative process, as well as the relation between the pieces and their broader staging context. In addition, the personal experience of the scholar/spectator is given prominence, as well as of her gaze. The resulting investigation is thus fundamentally epistemological, focusing at once on practices of presence †" understood as performative in nature †", and on figurations of presence, the perceptive and affective implications of performance.