Dress as a Performing Object

Abstract

The covering of the body constitutes an extensive historical debate including gender, body politics, identity, consumption, visual perception, fashion, and many other concepts. Among these are serious issues that bring light to the understanding of human nature and its complex relations with its natural or unnatural surroundings. Some appear as simple contemporary issues; as straightforward as deciding what kind of red coat to wear on top of a winter dress, yet relating to the semiotics of human self-representation. The term ‘fashion’ provides a point upon which these distinctive definitions of dressing play with meanings and objects and hence, subjects. For example, a dress evolves into being a part of fashion when it is screened on the catwalk. It exists, however, within the boundaries of art when positioned as a wearable art object. Besides this, it could be part of a performance such that its contribution makes the performance unique. This chapter focuses on the identification and definition of dress in relation to its being part of a dance performance - how it contributes to the moving body and its relation with the space around the body, considered an interesting point for commentary. In reviewing theliterature about the dancing body and dress, some significant examples are put forward for analysis. One of these would be the modern dancer Ziya Azizi who uses Mevlevi dress in his dance. One may observe that the impact of the relation of his dance with his performance dress is quite interesting. His movement resembles the Mevlevi rituals and also bring some issues in mind, such as the representation of particular beliefs and their effects on the overall dance performance and the dress identity itself. As a result, this chapter aims to study the identity and contribution of dress defined as relative to the dance performance - the moving dress and the body. © Inter-Disciplinary Press 2013.