Text / Not thinking through dance.

“The ignorant eschew phenomena but not thought; the wise eschew thought but not phenomena.”
Huang Po.
 
This paper will examine states of ‘unknowing’ or non reflexive, non subject/object consciousness achieved through the performance of physical movement works.
 
The inherent tension between the structure of ‘knowing’ in relation to ego and self; and the influence of culture and language on our ability to form and structure ideas, has been the subject of a variety of explorations by artists such as John Cage, philosophers such as Meister Eckhart, and the Zen tradition in both China and Japan. This paper will initially discuss how these ideas are explored through the author’s research into Zen musical performance practices in Japan, before investigating how they inform and influence his current arts practice which is transitioning from a purely music/sonic arts base into physical performance.
 
Through a linking of the physical body and a sustained mental focus, either on the production of sound, and/or on the sustaining of a simple physical action or movement, it will be argued that a non subject/object state of non knowing or 'nomind' can be engaged with. As a result, a practitioner can 'peel away' compounded experience, transcending an ego constrained “tyranny of reason” and personal aesthetic.