All these concepts of performance practice can be analysed using a theoretical model comprised of concentric circles as illustrated below.
In the diagram, the ‘sub-culture of performing art' refers to the arena of interacting individuals involved directly in the creative process of performing art in a particular genre or form. The ‘sub-cultures of related genres' indicate any other cultural arenas that are associated with the given genre or form, for example, literature, music, dance, theatre, ritual, and the like. (2) The ‘local /regional culture,' here, represents any regional variation within the geopolitical boundary of the given country or culture under examination. ‘Wider society' refers to social institutions in general, social and cultural systems, and their historical context in the appropriate period. Finally, ‘outside wider society' in the diagram relates to any external influence on the cultural and social life of the given country or culture (Um 1992, 1994, 1996).
These social and cultural forces that give shape to the performing arts are represented by concentric circles with the more distant and less direct elements on the outside and the more direct and interpersonal elements on the inside to create a spectrum of influences equivalent to Hood's ‘G-S line' (Hood 1982:56) that range from the general to the specific.
The model is necessarily inclusive of individuals and social institutions, such as performers, audiences, mediator and patrons, education system, etc., whose various contexts also generate systems of aesthetics and values. In this sense the whole set of concentric cycles represents what Bourdieu termed ‘social space,' or a series of fields of forces, whereas each circle in the model corresponds to Bourdieu's concept of a ‘field' of dynamic forces (Mahar, Harker and Wilkes 1990:8-9).
However, I do not wish to suggest that each circle in the model is self-contained or that its boundaries with the adjacent circles are fixed. On the contrary, they are flexible and interrelated with each other, producing the subsequent dynamics. Additionally, the symbolic or material power relationships between the inner and outer circles are not necessarily hierarchical in their position because ‘power,' as Foucault (1981) defines it, is a ‘discursive field' in which the ‘multiplicity of force relations' are confronted by a ‘multiplicity of points of resistance'.
Additionally, I would like to suggest that within the ‘sub-culture
of performing art,' there are three interrelated processes of performing
art-making, namely, the process of composition, process of performance,
and process of transmission. The operational mechanism of these processes
are similar to Bourdieu's concept of ‘habitus' (Mahar, Harker
and Wilkes 1990:10), or a set of dispositions.