Play with Purpose

An apt description of this book appears on the back cover of the book. This descrition was written by Professor Marié-Heleen Coetzee (DTech) and we quote: "Arthur Lessac's passing in 2011 has not only left the Lessac community grieving for a remarkable man, but has brought into sharp focus the need for a continuation of his vision. This book does exactly that. Beyond furthering his vision, this book brings together artist-scholars who extend his vision into multi-disciplinary domains. By weaving together diverging theoretical and contextual terrains, the book stands testimony to the richness and malleability of Lessac Kinesensics. The book organically develops from a layered exposition of the work to applications of the work in the domains of performance and well-being. The central epistemological principle underpinning the book is in viewing the bodymindvoice as a mode of 'knowing' and 'being-in-the-world'; simultaneously being-thinking in and through the work in accordance with the parameters of a specific learning experience or research project. The book offers an array of practice-based methodologies to compliment this principle, contributing not only to scholarship on Lessac Kinsensics, but also to the broader domain of research methodologies in/for the arts. In weaving together theoretical terrains and autobiographical narratives, the book offers a reading experience that is simultaneously deeply (and, at times, movingly) immersive and critically reflexive. In terms of praxis, this book foregrounds the ways in which Lessac Kinesensics fosters self-use, self-teaching and self-care - offering ways in which we can better interrogate our inner worlds, extend our understanding of others and optimize our ways of engaging with the external world. The book is a manifesto of hope: using Lessac Kinesensics to activiate and collectively vision an artistic and pedagogical future greated towards human flourishing."