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CHAPTER1
PERFORMANCEOFTHEBODY
Performancestudiesareinterdisciplinarystudieswhichincorporatetheoriesofdra-
ma,dance,art,anthropology,folkloristics,philosophy,culturalstudies,psychology,
sociology,comparativeliterature,communicationstudies,andincreasingly,music
performance.ThefirstacademicdepartmentwiththenameuPerformanceStudies”
startedatNYUin1980.RichardSchechner,oneofthefoundingfathersofthedis-
cipline,facedwiththequestionofwhetherperformancestudieswereaufield”,an
uarea”,audiscipline”,remarked:
Thesidewindersnakemovesacrossthedesertfloorbycontractingandextendingitself
inasidewaysmotion.Whereverthisbeautifulrattlesnakepoints,itisnotgoingthere.
Such(in)directionischaracteristicofperformancestudies.Thisarea/field/discipline
oftenplaysatwhatitisnot,trickingthosewhowanttofixit,alarmingsome,amus-
ingothers,astoundingafewasitside-windsitswayacrossthedesertsofacademia.1
InthefirstchapterofPartI,uPerformanceofRomanticism.ChopinasaSuffering
MelancholicGenius”,Iwillexplorethenotionoftheperformativequalityofthe
body,notablythebodywhichwasdeclaredsick.Weareindeedtalkingabouttropes
fornewattitudestowardtheself,theRomanticselfofauniqueindividual,agenius,
melancholicandtubercular,whoseshortlifecreatedanewqualityinthehistoryof
ideas.Bothclothes-theoutergarmentofthebody-andillness-whichmightbe
lookedatasaninteriordecorationofthebody-leadustoawidespreadexampleof
adistinctlymodernactivity,namely,performingandpromotingtheselfasanimage.
TB,orconsumption,wasperceivedasamannerofappearing,ofperformingoneself
forothersaroundyou,andthatappearancebecameastapleofnineteenthcentury
manners,butalsoofideasandbeliefsabouttheself.InthecaseofFryderykChopin,
wecanseehisillnessasRomanticattireandwewillaimtorecreateitsperformance.
Wewilldosobytakingacloserlookatconceptsandmetaphorscreatedbythero-
manticizingofTB,suchasthesufferinggenius,romanticnatureandtheunnatural,
madness,Gothicism,theuncanny,melancholia,andagony.
1
RichardSchechner,PerformanceStudies.AnIntroduction,Routledge,NewYork,London,2006,p.28f.
