Conducting Embodied Research at the Intersection of Performance Studies, Experimental Ethnography and Indigenous Methodologies

Abstract

Grounding embodied research in Indigenous method-
ologies as well as feminist, sensory and experimental ethnog-
raphy, I propose an alternative performance-based approach
modelled on the creative work of women from different cultures
and generations who collaborated with influential theatre inno-
vator Jerzy Grotowski. I infer from my experimental fieldwork
and embodied research on the work of these artists that posi-
tionality, relationality, relevance, respect, and reciprocity are
critical to articulating experiential ways of cognition beyond the
limitations imposed by dominant conceptions of knowledge.
Having foregrounded the Indigenous and environmentalist cri-
tique of performance-based methodologies derived from the
work of Augusto Boal and Paulo Freire, I suggest that alterna-
tive approaches which allow for the interrelation of creativity,
agency, embodiment and spirituality can help promote more
diverse and inclusive perspectives.