Jyn Orlowski, FCLC 2026

Major: Philosophy, Dance

Bio: Jyn Orlowski is a graduating senior at Fordham University, pursuing a degree in Philosophy, as well as a BFA in Dance in the Ailey/Fordham BFA program, with a minor in Music. This combination of academic and artistic experience has given Jyn a keen interest in the field of Embodied Philosophy, which they will continue to study in the University of Edinburgh's MSc in Philosophy program.

Title of Research: An Embodied Wittgensteinian Approach to Understanding Dance Performance

Mentor: Chris Myers, PhD, Philosophy

Abstract: In aesthetic philosophy, dance is often overlooked, in favor of other art forms, like painting, literature, and music. As such, aesthetic theories tend to ignore the attributes of dance performance which set it apart from other forms of art. This paper intends to address this concern. By engaging with the fields of Embodied Philosophy, later Wittgensteinian Philosophy, contemporary analytic aesthetics, and the burgeoning field of the Philosophy of Dance, this paper pushes forward the conversation which attempts to situate dance in relation to other forms of art in aesthetic philosophy. My process intended to analyze both the similarities and differences between an observer’s experience of dance performance, and their experience of other forms of art. Building on the work of Nicola Di Stefano and Stefano Olivia, who used a similar process to understand music performance, I hoped to show how dance is similar to other forms of art in the imaginative reaction of the observer, but distinct in the familiarity that the observer has with the “instrument;” that being the body. As a result, the imaginative response in the observer need not speculate on the kinds of actions necessary to engage with dance, but rather it must take already understood actions and reimagine them in terms of the performance at hand. This simultaneous familiarity and unfamiliarity makes dance a worthy candidate for an aesthetic theory all its own.