Repetition as a methodology: Costumes, archives and choreography

Abstract

Abstract This article considers how costumes contribute to choreographic aesthetics through their capacity to be repeated. I develop different conceptions of repetition – replication (copying); representation (appearance within a frame that represents an image); and reproduction (as construction or manufacture) of costume objects and ideas over time. Being interested in the material process of making and wearing costumes, it also investigates how repetition leads to the possibility of invention. Using Walter Benjamin’s concept of the dialectical image to discuss costumes as objects within a dance archive and within live choreography, it examines an early modern dance form call..