Concept-Based Analysis

Abstract

This chapter introduces concept-based analysis as a method in performance research, grounded in cultural analysis as developed by Mieke Bal (2002), a Dutch scholar in literature, art history, and cultural theory. It highlights Bal’s notion of theoretical concepts as “searchlight theories”—tools that illuminate specific layers of meaning in an object of study. The chapter also emphasises the potential of “travelling concepts” for interdisciplinary work. Such concepts retain core theoretical insights from their original disciplines but can be adapted and operationalised in new contexts. A step-by-step guide is proposed for conducting concept-based analysis, including selecting and contextualising the concept and object, formulating guiding questions, and reflecting critically on the method and the researcher’s positionality. The method is illustrated through a student project on queer presence in the work of Sasha Velour, a genderfluid drag artist (Van der Vegt 2023). This project uses the concept of the “shimmer” to explore visibility and identity. Another example employs “the imaginary” to analyse motion capture technology in dance, as in Karreman (2017). The chapter concludes by showing how concept-based analysis can be applied in interdisciplinary and pedagogical contexts, such as using concepts from performance studies to examine and develop social robotics.