Re-generative Habit

Abstract

‘Re-generative Habit: Dancing the mimetic faculty’ examines the role of habit in choreographic practice through a comparison with Walter Benjamin's concept of the 'mimetic faculty'. This article considers the intersection of habit, dance and language as being distinct yet interconnected expressions of an innate mimetic ability. Drawing on Benjamin's theories of the ‘mimetic faculty’ and ‘non-sensuous similarity’ from his philosophy of language, I examine how these concepts intersect in my choreographic practice, using my recent screendance project 'Mimeisthai' as a case study. This project presents a specific example of a 'performance-generating systems' approach to dance-making, inspired by Danish Canadian dance theorist Pil Hansen, and highlights the inherent tension between established habit and the desire for creative innovation. By emphasizing the relational, performative and dynamic aspects of habit within creative practice, this article challenges familiar views of habit as being simply automatic behaviour. Instead, habit is depicted as a flexible, versatile element that not only offers stability but also opens up possibilities for new forms of expression to emerge.

Notes

1 This article draws on my practice-led PhD titled Dancing the Mimetic Faculty: A peculiar phenomenology (Robinson 2022a).

2 The mimetic faculty is discussed in a series of unpublished essays and fragments written by Benjamin during 1932 and 1933 (1999a; 1999b; 1999c). Although Benjamin considered these texts to be ‘merely a gloss or addendum’ to his earlier essay ‘On language as such and on the language of man’ (1996 [1916]), recent scholarship suggests the mimetic faculty is central to Benjamin’s thought, providing insight into his better-known concepts such as ‘aura’ and ‘dialectical image’ (Eiland and Jennings 2014: 388–99).

3 Mimeisthai, filmed, directed and edited by Phoebe Robinson, featuring Melbourne/Naarm-based dancers Oonagh Slater, Rhys Ryan, Chloe Arnott and Luke Fryer, with music by Mathew Rolfe aka Secret Towns (Robinson 2022b).

4 The mirror game is a standard warm up and/or therapeutic exercise that is variously attributed to theatre practitioners Augusto Boal and Viola Spolin. While there are many variations in Boal and Spolin’s use of mirroring techniques, the mirror game is currently known as a relatively standard exercise frequently used in creative, pedagogical and therapeutic settings.