performare

Performare is a term used in performance studies and related disciplines to describe the practical execution of a planned action in live or mediated contexts. It emphasizes the transition from intention to manifestation, highlighting how choices in timing, movement, sound, and audience relation shape what is ultimately experienced. In discussions of contemporary performance, performare is treated as a key dimension that sits alongside concept, design, and rehearsal.

The word appears to be a neologism combining the verb perform with a Latin-like suffix to signal action. Its exact origins are uncertain, but it has circulated primarily in scholarly writing and practitioner circles as a label for the act of enacting an idea rather than describing it at the planning stage.

Proponents describe performare as a focus on embodiment, materiality, and relationality, where meaning emerges through how an action is carried out, not solely from its written script or concept. It foregrounds rehearsal as a site of decision-making and improvisation, where performers, directors, and audiences co-create the happening.

Uses span theatre, dance, and installation art, especially process-driven works and live art. Analysts may employ performare to examine rehearsals, score interpretation, audience feedback loops, and the ways in which performative decisions alter perceived significance.

Critics note that as a relatively new label, performare risks vagueness and overlap with existing ideas such as performance, practice-based research, and performativity. Proponents encourage precise definitions and careful case studies to establish its analytic usefulness. See also: performativity, embodied cognition, process art.