Shayna Ambers

.Shayna Ambers is a writer and movement artist from Frisco, Texas whose research examines the relationship between bodies at risk and the use of movement to cope with internal and external stressors, including (but not limited to) trauma, loss, and radical change. Her most recent work analyzes how the strict precision standards of Texas dance/drill teams impact dancers’ assumptions of physical risk, therefore altering their movement phrasing in both quotidian and performative settings. Outside of her studies, Shayna enjoys flying trapeze, not reading theory, attempting to learn various instruments, and spending time with her dog, Mozzie.

Title of Project

"Bodies of Bodies at Risk": Utopic Extremes and the Flow of Capital through Texas Dance/Drill Team

Description of Project

My presentation explores the ways in which different versions of utopia are perpetuated within the world of Texas drill team by navigating how depersonalization, structural interpellation, and the flow of capital through this genre of dance affect the points in space a body is allowed (or forced) to occupy. By recognizing the existence of rigid traditional structures which drive the field’s thirst for technical perfection, one can begin to alienate oneself from these stipulations, remaining cognizant of the field’s drive to depersonalize the individual for aesthetic, precision-centric purposes without actually equating their worth as a dancer to their degree of structural interpellation.

Furthermore, upon this realization, how can the definition of “utopia” be shifted to encompass the phenomenon of emotional “togetherness” which emerges from the art of dancing in unison and generates a communal sense of belonging?

Areas of Academic Interest

Bodies at Risk; Utopia; Performing Memory; Kinesthetic Empathies; Interpellation; Dance, Movement, and Sequencing