CFP: Symposium on Choreographic Process

[Hetty Blades]

Deal all,

Please see below for information about a symposium we are planning at Coventry University which might be of interest. Please note that the deadline for submissions is this Monday 10th Feb.

Best wishes,

Hetty

Symposium: 'Performing Process: Sharing Practice’

Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE), Coventry University

Friday 6^th of June 2014

Convenors: David Bennett, Hetty Blades, Emma Meehan

http://c-dare.co.uk/

 

Call for papers

Choreographic process is increasingly examined, shared and discussed in a variety of academic, artistic and performative contexts. More than ever before, post-show discussions, artistic blogs, books, archives, seminars and sharings provide opportunities for choreographers to explain their individual methodologies. There are many possible reasons for the increased interest in process: as a product of dance's relationship with the academy, an attempt to increase audiences in an austere climate, or a product of the 'information age'.

 

What is clear is that the articulation of process is not exclusive to academic or research-led contexts; choreographers working across a range of cultural and stylistic disciplines are finding multiple methods through which to explain their process and share their 'choreographic knowledge' (Forsythe 2009) and ‘choreographic thinking tools’ (deLahunta 2011). This vocalisation of different knowledges challenges poststructuralist and traditional aesthetic ways of thinking about the role of the artist, revising ideas of ‘letting the work speak for itself’. Concepts of authorship and intentionality are foregrounded, within a climate where choreographers frequently adopt multiple methods for voicing their intentions and practices.

 

This symposium will examine the current interest in choreographic process. We invite submissions from practitioners, students and scholars. We also welcome proposals for short performances, workshops and sharings, as well as conventional paper and panel presentations. The following areas are of particular interest:

 

Formats: What are the approaches, methodologies and formats for sharing process? In what spaces and places is process being shared? How does this impact the exchange between performer and audience? How is the sharing of process facilitated?

Audience: Who is the audience for process? Why is it being shared, with whom and within what contexts? What is the role of the audience in this transaction?

Articulation: What are the modes for articulating process? As the value of process as a form of knowledge is acknowledged and new ways of articulating practice-led research are developed, how does this articulation produce new theoretical and methodological research paradigms and questions? Does it undermine previously valued forms of performance analysis and forms of practice?

Process as performance:  How does the process become the performance for example in improvisation, durational work, ongoing investigations, online documentation and so on?

The impact of process: How does the sharing of process develop 'choreographic knowledge' and therefore have an impact on the perception, appreciation, value and experience of live performance?

Politics: How is the artistic and academic environment shaped by political structures and how do these structures impact the sharing of process? Is sharing process a product of the increasing pressure for outreach and impact on non-academic/non-professional communities? Does the increasing documentation of process comes from a fear of the work not existing if it is not recorded, especially with the emphasis on outputs and documents by funders and institutions?

Digital technologies: What is the role of technological developments in the transmission of process and therefore choreographic knowledge?

Futures of process: How does the sharing of process instigate further artistic explorations by the artist sharing the work or audiences? For example, how are online archives being used by others to inspire or inform artistic practices? What could be the impact of sharing process on the future of the artwork and performance practices?

 

Please note: Guest speakers will be drawn from international practitioners and researchers in the field (to be announced at a later date). Registration for the event will cost £20 concession/£30 full price.

 

Format for submissions

Paper presentations are limited to 20 minutes and workshops are limited to 90 minutes in duration.  Short performance sharings and other formats may also be possible.

 

In your proposal please include the following:

 

Names of presenters and organisational/institutional affiliation(s) if any

Technical, space and duration requirements

Biography (max 300 words)

Title of performance, presentation, paper, workshop

500 word abstract/description

Bibliography (optional)

The deadline for submission of proposals is Monday 10^th February 2014.  

Proposals should be emailed to Hetty Blades [e-mail]