Manlu Du

Thesis

Thesis Title & Description

Body as the discourse of sound

• Supervisor: Catherine Laws

As a violinist, composer, musicologist, and movement artist, I am fascinated by the relationship between sound and body, and the choreographic potential of musicians’ body which holds a refreshing opportunity to deepen the current understanding of choreomusical relationship. I feel the fluidity of my identity as an artist as I have been immersing myself in different experiences in the fields of music and dance. My creative practice will encompass the outcomes of multiple practices in the field of music and dance, includes recitals, compositional and choreographic scores and notations, physical theatre, and audiovisual artifacts. Through my creative practice I seek to explore queerness and post-feminism as ways of thinking in contemporary music making and performance.

Biography

Biography

Graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in 2020 with a bachelor degree in musicology, In May of the same year, I completed the thesis, "Philip Brett's Theoretical Constructs and the Practice of Music Analysis of Queer Musicology". Graduated from Roehampton University in 2022 with a master degree in Dance Philosophy and History, exploring the relationship between sound, body, and the pianistic ontology in dance theatre, and was awarded the Roehampton University Outstanding International Student Scholarship and Music Scholarship, which can be seen as a precursor to current doctoral interdisciplinary research. Alongside the current research, I am also working as a violinist in the University of York Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra, Baroque Orchestra and The Assembled, performing with the ensembles amongst a range of other practical activities.

Research

Research Interests

Music aesthetics, contemporary music, choreo musical relationship, queer theory, embodiment, theatre and performance studies
I am interested in the area above and open to collaboration.

Publications

Publications

In November 2019, participated as an official representative of the Beijing Western Music Society, and presented the paper "On the Role of ‘Musical Style’ in the Study of ‘Queer Musicology’”.
In April 2022, working with Charlie Ashwell (Roehampton guest lecturer) in her creative practice project "Dance and Occult".
In June 2022, performed as the violinist with The Assembled in the experimental concert "Spreadino" held in Streetlife Hub, York.