Professional Documents
Culture Documents
H
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ali
and what is
As a dance r working
with,
critical
new interest
the tendency
ment
writing
about
delighted
the
at this
ror desire
instead,
writings
seldom
address
that requires
something
as an initial premise.
ous and ephemeral,
a convenient
the refcrent
01'
01'
science
01'
for
and
01'
that con-
sexuality:
we
on an analysis
01'
~:
Michel
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as part
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delineates
and
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as
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hardly
Iineaments
though,
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are asked
the disciplinary
two examples
nwthods
~~
organiza-
suffice,
include
cu!til'ating
ali sports
regulations
and ph)'sical-culture
governing
posture,
01'
worship;
arts; patterns
01'
conduct
standing.
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etiquette
and comportment,
and \vhat is dubiousl)' titlcd
"nonverbal
communication";
habits in til(' workplace or place
r ~.
=
disciplines
through which it is molded, shapl'<l,
transformed
and, in essence, created. Such dis
IJursuits;
~
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procedures,
to maintain
01' culture.2
These
Foucault
the instructable
organizations
rorming
~~
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and spatial
ciplines
scrutinize
calculation
writing.'
stud)'ing
positions.
these writings
ror genres
01'
receptacle
~~
perrormances
unknown
mysteri-
l
r
the synec-
01'
the disciplinary
tion
puppet
agenda
01'
pects
unknowable
incorpo-
by
or practices
ar
01'
01'
habits
substitution
discourses
01'
power.
01'
Bunraku
to th~ds
technigiesusedt~-~~Tti;;teit..
Wli'ri 1 i-ead recent
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dochic
Barthes
body, Iam,
and, by extension,
the
its.response
the significance
adjectives
about
to study -
What
approach
anJ
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rateu
details
anatomical
subjectcd
body, I experience
it as aJ?9d)'-of-ideas.
I beIieve it is, as Diderot observed, the sum aI' ali the
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situates this Ijoiljri-ci;~iousness in a cultural
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has ealled "techniques of the body,"-l Such practiees, Foucault has demonstrated, are part of the
fabric of culture itselr. They "invest, mark, train
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eating, walking, as w0ll as ali practices that contribute to the development of what MareeI Mauss
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The Perceived
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danceI' pursues a certain technique for reformin!~til(' hnch-. and til(' hndv S('('I11<
to ('onform to
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. images of a boely, images of other elancers' boelies anel cinematic 01'vieleo images of elancing
boelies. The dancer's ideal body may specify size,
shape anel proportion of its parts as well as expertise at executing specific movements. Both
boelies, the perceived and the ideal, consist of
the skeletal, muscular and nervous systems and
?'aphy, a ~iTlgork~y
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as principIes governing the,.proper relations of
tfese;es~Tn da~;te~I~nique
~lasses, this
. tpography is put in motion by performing
sequences of movement usually designated by ,'" '.
th<:.de~~.!!!'_tI-,~.t\'y"<:,!?~4y_~
the teacher .
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Unlike the private classes offered in the technique of playing a musical instrument, dance
classes are usually attended by fifteen to fifty
students at a time. They occur daily, rather than
weekly 01'monthly, and they rarely present for
study and performance an entire dance composition. Pht'ases 01'sections of dances may be
taught, but the issues of interpretation, development, coherence 01'style of performance are
more often aeldressed in rehearsal for a specific
work rather than in technique class. Furthermore, dancers are not expected to practice
extensively on their own. Their training is communal and highly regimented, but it is also context specific. As students learn to duplicate the
correctly demonstrative body and to avoid the
mistakes of the incorrect body, they present
(anel are presented with) endless new variations
on right and wrong. The demands ofboth the
perceived and the ideal bodies are thus redefined
by each teacher with each group of students.
E~<;.hd~!lf~c!1l1l3.ue relie~~extensive
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literal and s~;1;et1mes
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anel ideal'bodi~s. Ea~h'tech~iq~e '~~itiv~ts odily strength, ile'xibility and alignment, the shapes
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Bailei Technique.
T\le dominJnt and most
fJllliliar 01' JII theatricJI dJnce techniqlles is bJIIet. 01' the five bodies to be considered here, it is
the onl)' one with requirements for the dancer's
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llsually erect center conneeting the fOllr appendages Jnd the heJd. Approximately one half 01' a
c1JSSsession tJkes place at the barre, Stlldents
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stJbilizing the body by holding J barre. They perform mo\'ements, announced (in French) by the
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commitment to intensive training. The perceived body, never sufficiently thin or well proportioned, must mold itself repeatedly into the
abstract forms presented in c1ass and then on
stJge. The dancer's self exists to facilitate the
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ographer and, ultimately, the tradition by ordering the bod)' to practice and then to perform
ideaIs 01' movement.
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ideal body - light, quick, precise, strong - designJtes the linear shapes, the rhythm 01' phrases,
even the pantomimed gestures, .111with Iyrical
effortlessness, Success also requires the promising student to make an early and dedicated
crJftlike acquisition
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ographer and, ultimately, the tradition by orderil1gthe body to practice and then to perform
ideaIs 01'movement.
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f~mili~r 01'~IIthe~tric~1 d~nce techniC]lIes is b~lIct. 01' thc fi\'c hodics to be cOllSidered here, it is
ideal botly - light, gllick, precise, strol1g - designates the linear shapes, the rhythm 01'phrases,
evel1 the p~ntomimed gestures, ali with Iyrical
effortlessl1ess, Success also reguires the promising studel1t to make al1 early and dedicated
commitment to intensive training The perceived body, never sufficiently thin 01'well 1'1'0portioned, must mold itself repeatedly into the
abstract forms presented in c1ass and then 011
stage. The dancer's self exists to facilitate the
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usuall)' erecl center connecting the four appendages and the heael, Approximatel)' one half 01'a
c1ass session takes place at the b~rre, Students
thel1 move lo the center 01'the room for longer,
more intricate combinations at var)'ing tempos,
Class ends \Vith seguences 01'leaps anel turns in
which dancers travei across the room eliagonally,
1\\'001' lhree at a time, Descriptions 01'move-
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Isadora
Dunean,
Rubyaiyat
of Ornar Khayyam,
1899.
Jaeob Sehloss
great nineteenth-century
classical composers.
Dancers .lIso act out simple imaginary scenarios
guided by the music's meter anel harmonic deve]opment. Since music is considerecl to be the
truest expression of the human soul, dance,
which replicates its compositional structure,
can likewise indicate the soul's ephemeral but
fervent states of being When students are asked
to "retreat, shiclding themselves from an evil
force moving toward them," or to "fali to the
earth, lie quietly and then rise to greet the sun,"
they are participating, body anel soul, in primordial human situations.
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collective of bodies."
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Graham Technique.
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dancing body must possess the strength, flexibility and endurance necessary to provide the
expressive self \Vith a fully responsive instrument. The goal of dance, to represent in archetypal form the deep conflicts of the human
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time as the ballet student spends at the bane consists of cxercises performed in a sitting 01'
Iying positionj students then practice sequences
standing and, i'inally, traveling across the floor.
The exercises privilege movements originating
in the torso and radiating Ollt \Vith rcstrained
tcnsion to the periphery of the body. The slow
progression from sitting to standing to traveling,
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Thc principallllctaphClr
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I1lCltCSa conncction
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chological
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tions,
the cOl1lments
arduous
",
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to
.<
project
,.,
dance's
within
01' becoming
concerning
',i. r,t;r~I'~
bady,
abays
50 the danccr
lacking
articulation,
~~J~h
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self-
01' the
scrulinizes
selr
either
percei\'ed
in integration
must strugglc
or
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to conslant
lhe validity
body's unresponsi\,eness.
tf "'i~ii.!.i
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an artist. Just as
rnust suhmit
message,
situaclasses
to ps)'c1lOlogical experience:
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classes, in
made in Graham's
corrections
interrogation
t .
- .'
Duncan's
and
variuus
the choreographer
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Stude11ts introsl'ecli\'el)'
Unlike
the student
izing physical
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which
1'1'0-
and psy-
to external
'4.r~.
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functioning.
internal
in lhcsc
and r"leasc,
bct\\'ecnphysical
, '1'...,.
cxplored
that orcontraction
strengthens
and
',,',(Yi'
~~ 1. -r,;'
.~ki
\:I'~'
CunninBham
"
a Illclllbcr
Duet" from Amer;can
;.v< .
. ..
Barbara
.,...
Document.
1939"
rnodern
Morgan
SUClTssions
rrom cenlral
to
periphcral
,}
lhe dirlicult;
repealed
. ;:~
teachcr
orbodily
expression.
:/,
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Excrcises,
compmcd
by the
p,,,itions.
as by tlll' dissonant
lexlulTS
arrin's
orthc
l1lusi-
on til(' dO\\'nlH'at,
inn11ediatcly
in a I)t'\\'
dancing
to lhe nartlikc
lllon'l1lcnt.
nonhicrarcl,i"al
ballet,
I1ni'l"e
t1nal1ticil'ated.
elasticit;
predCllllinatcs
O\'('r
tl1('
nH'S~;)gl'
and 1'1"\''''nting
hOI\T\'('J', a radic,llh
definitiol1
cekhralcs
illllllcrsing
01' enhancing
Unlike
and l\'ithdra\\'.ll
lcnsilc
pursuit
sl',ltial
oftlll'
I':\llIe pn'l'aik
1 i.'L1all'attcrn
lhe physical-
collll'lcx
distillcti\'l'
mililar)'
inscribing
Ilis conceplion
lo
cOllll'an)'
l11elhod presents
bodics
01' Al11erican
Graballl's
and tecllllique
and temporall'attcrns.
cal ac(olllpanilllent,
al'l'('ara11Ce,
o.~
and
Ieft Martba
Cunninghal1l's
,~ 'i'
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dancers,
choreography
:!~:"
Ivlerce Cunningham,
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o
Technique.
OfCOllIH'I('"(T
.lllel
Cl1l1l1il1ghalll\ al'l'roaclr
1'I,)"'i'l"es,
'l',irkilH'ss
alld ti\('
tire 0IH'II-el1ded
Lxcrciscs
"li'
IH' I<'clrni(l"l'
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J'
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;,
,to
Tec:hnique.
[fthe Cun-
ningham body is a jointed one, the body cultivateu in contact improvisation is weighted and
momentous. This technique, developed collaboratively in the early 1970s by Steve Paxton, Nancy
Stark Smith, Lisa Nelson and others, explores the
body's rclations to gravit)' and to other bodies
which reslllt from ils ahilily lo flow as a ph)'sical
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the studcnts'
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student
encourages
dancers
fi
ing dance
I',
Nancy
Conlacl
Erich
Stark
Smith
..
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"
'I
Ptashek,
lhemsell'es
The structure
tlll'tic project.
dcmocratic,
unprcdictable
and highly physical
situation, the dancer's self hccomcs imlllerscd in
lhe body, as il does f()r Cunningham.
f;
!l:
lhe changing
.) ...
the \\'eight
,;
n~
is constantly
context
...r:
ielen-
rcncgotialed
01' anothcr;
it must manil'est
The body,
\\'ith an ongoing
be sulficient
in
rotatcd
Stlldents
01' aUlhorily
de\'elopl'd
the dancing
Ballet's prescribed
"r ''',,)('rt
a fkxihlc,
elc-
lradition,
The teachcr's conl'ise
the student within lhat tradition.
dirl'l'til'l's
Dllncan's
place
lI'alks
rh)'thm
illlporlant,
and Duncan
tech-
and quality,
I1('S5. 'lheir
graccful,
grollnded
litheness
inlheir
sel'ks
til(' slu-
to apprel'iate
and relcasc
and encollr-
allparticipants
on olltl\'arelly
aS11Ianel conl'iction
nique
in l'ach
~\ I
to
and danccrs,
to bear
illlprovisation
take
dance.
1'1',
floth contact
in mak-
may he relnant
as choreographers
Franz
"
,',
Alan
1979.
';"
'.>'
(',
and
Improvisalion,
insighls
that qllcstion
on composition,
'i
.,.
'';1'
the
and physi-
Cunningham's
as well as in performing.
"."
~!/
to intcrest
I :"~
cOlllments
to discipline.
technique,
:~~'~
j~
through
:;.~~ -
\~{
:IJ:'"
encourages
this psychological
!~~~.~.
',;~~i'
;'i
ability to perform
to measure
onc's commitment
,;
,,~~;~,
.; ..,.,
-<7
the danccr's
cal participation
::;~.;'
. 1",., . ! ~~,';')""
f.
,'}
.,~
lo~
revolve around
with physical
. I,
~ij"~'
.~.,
t ..
technique,
"
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:~:.::~:>:iZ:.~
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,...
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1"
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em-
ahstract
ideaIs. Graham's
~~
l .,'~:"~,.~
,
them,
J~'
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against
;::~
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J'.
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ilsclf and
competition
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f. ;::.~ '~}: t : ,'
',:9
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., '.I'.""~'ti,;I ,-'
fl)1:'"~~
!"
:.
pcrformance
,I
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,tt'
li
.,.,"4
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r ..." :'.
~:;:::l~-,-,'
Ilj'
ali incite
;""
responses
the
in lhe chorcography
in its viewers'
.(~L.,. _".,
:.(-",.4,\
In hallel, hy contrasl,
and companics,
':~..
!~%'" i' i,
j,~~~j~!;~
'j:<' ,
,"','"
ofelancers.
hierarchy
"r a
ellltheir
('Olll-
eI)'n,'lllic "oely
inl1('rl'nt
ine~pre~sing
feelings
those
'113
The "Hired"
dance makers, called "independent choreographers," has emerged; their aesthetic vision can
be traced to the experimental choreography of
the early 19605 and 19705, a period when choreographic investigation challenged boundaries
between dance and day-to-day movemcnt and
claill1ed any and ali hUll1an movement as potential dance. Because these choreographers' work
neither grows out of; nor is supported by, any of
the academies of dance, classical 01' modern, their
01'
Mangol!e
:,;:i,~
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01'
Duncan's dancers.
lt" 1
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,,'
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,
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success depends largely on their own entrepreneurial efforts to promote their work. New institutions of "arts management and administration"
have grown to meet the needs of producing their
work. Issues of fashion and fundability have in-
Babette
;f',
.~ :'
01'
technigues - how each elaborates a set of rclations among parts 01' the body, and among dancing bodies, and how each de\"<'lops the body
within a sonoral and architectural environment.
Trisha Brown,
.~.
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Body
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:-
Ijothes
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dance choreographers,
l.
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't,
to suit
~~:,'t,~;' :~
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living at dancing
The hired body has been shaped partly by contemporary practices 01'physical education whose
goals for such activities as sports, aerobics and
individual exercise programs - jogging, swimming, weight lifting and so on - have been set
by the scientization 01'the body's needs. Like the
ideal body promoted by these activities, this hired
hody should achieve a certain heart rate, a general
leveI 01'strength and Ilexibility and a muscular
tonus. The criteria for evaluating its training
share physical education's specialized and scientific orientation. They use the language ofbiology and kinesiology to appraise the strength,
flexibility and endurance 01'the body's muscle
groups. Through this scientitk language 01'the
body, the hody's character is reduced to principIes 01'physics: it can he enlarged here, c1asticized
there. This bod)', apureI)' ph)'sical object, can be
made O\'er into whatcver look one dcsires. Like
dance, ",hich can he vic"'ed and H'vie\\'cd iIHJerinitel)'. This reconl, hclpflll as a too} in the choreographic process, has become increasingly
mandatory as a promotional device required b)'
ali dance producers and funding agencies as an
unproblematic simulacrull1 01'live dance.
Although the video body bears little resell1blance to any 01'the bodies perceived in the dance
class, it shares with the hired body certain ideaIs.
Both feature a rubbery Ilexibility coated with
impervious glossiness, and both are equally removed from the aesthetic vision that implements
them. Training to construct it primarily takes
place standing behind the camera and sitting in
the editing room. The techniques it manifests,
along with the aesthetic orientation it supports,
be10ng properly to the medium 01'video, not
to dance as a perrorming art. Training to construct the hired body occurs in rooms full 01'
bodybuilding machines 01'in dance classes whose
overall aesthetic orientation may hold little
appeal. 5tHl, both video and hired bodies appear
as the products 01'an elTicient and "unbiased"
training program, assumed to be neutral and
completeI)' adaptahle; as a result, thC')'mask the
process through \vhich dance technique constructs the bod)'.
01' course, there is nothing ne'" ahout the
assertion 01'a normative or original bod)', or an
efficaciolls "'a)' to instruct the hod)'. Dunran
and thC' other earl)' ll1o(krnists, ror cxample,
obscured their approach to constrllcting the
bod)' h)' insisting 011the "natllralness" 01'their
training. Their "natural" hod)', ho\\'ever, contravel1cd prevailil1g ~esthetil' ideaIs and I'l'csel1(('d
a profoundly different alternativc, \\'hC'reas the
multipurpose hircd hod)' suhsull1es and sl1looths
over differenccs. The 11l0dernist approach to
r4
..
l-
~~r
1978).
3. lIis cssay is induded inlhis \'Olumc, pp. ~54-477
-l'IlS.
01'
If
8,,1,,"chi"e
!
!
I:
f
.l
01'
Ounean's appmaeh
to Cynthia
NO\,;lCk
011
Ihis paper.
7. l;rahalll's philosophy
marizeo
in her artidc,
01'
.;:)
/'
uThe Amcrican
D.1IKI.::,"
Man
Walking
Down
Side
of Bui/ding,
1970.
'0'0'.'
'.-
.r.
in Ml'r1e
H'orld) Ounce
8. Cunningham
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,'.
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jJJ
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the devclopment
01'
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41-6
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