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The known, the agreed-upon, the familiar. The new, the non-literal, the unusual. The abstract, the concrete, the risky, the radical. The critique of, or reinforcing propaganda for, social and political content and action. For as long as artists have made works available for public or private observation by others, navigation between the ideas presented in the works and how witnesses interpret and respond has been underway. This navigation is sometimes accompanied by what can be referred to as audience dramaturgy. Audience dramaturgy aims, through various interventions and with the involvement of qualified interlocutors, to stimulate and facilitate the making of meaning for spectators of artistic works, and to encourage audience engagement with and response to artists' ideas. With the flourishing of the concert dance field from the mid-20th century, dance performance and presenting practices have, in various ways, offered resources to audiences aimed at contextualising the work and stimulating fresh thinking about it. An elaborate residency conducted by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC) and presented by three presenting partners (The Jerusalem Season of Culture, the Israel Festival, and the Israel Museum) in Israel in June 2011, offers a strong case study on the range and variety of activities that can be deployed in conducting a sound, well-imagined, interactive dramaturgy of presenting.

DOI: 10.1057/9781137373229_10

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