How may body/word Performance Writing unveil connections between bodies, places and communities, with the expanded fields of dance and writing via the creation of multimodal choreographic scores? How will this research update the methodology itself via practical and theoretical input by people of very different backgrounds, corporealities and places of residency?
One of the biggest and most rewarding body/word Perfromance Writing projects so far, this research was a big group collaboration with many supporting bodies. As long texts are not a website favorite, most space will be dedicated to credits. We are more than happy to elaborate, so please feel free to get in touch.
We started off as Head of Research: Christos Polymenakos, MA Performance Writing, creator of the body/word Performance Writing methodology, Associate Researcher: Iliana Fylla, Phd Art History, Specialized in Contemporary Dance, Research Counselor: Thalia Ditsa, MA Choreography, soon to make it a more collective work, throughout. The idea was that I would share principles, tools and examples in designing research processes that would offer the participants tools and allow us to collect feedback. For this we invited emerging and established professionals from various fields of arts, society and science: Adonis Galeos, Dramaturg, Director, Translator, Rhetoric Acting Educator, Anastasia S. Tsingotjidou, Associate Professor of Veterinary Medicine, Ph.D. in Neuroanatomy, Anestis Nikolos, Pastry Chef, Angelos Papadopoulos, Choreographer, Director, Performer, Antigone Gyra, Choreographer, Artistic Director of Kinitiras Artistic Network of Performing Arts, Aristoteles – George Zogas, visual conceptual contemporary artist, Charilaos Mantzavinos, Sociologist, Psychotherapist (Opou group), Christina Thanasoula, Light Designer, Dana Papachristou, PhD, Musicologist and Sound Artist, Demy Papathanasiou, Crip Dancer/ & Choreographer, Dimitris Batsis, sound artist and academic researcher, PhD in Biomusic, Dimitris Champesis, PhD on Cultural Diplomacy, Program Designer and Manager, Eleni Gyra, Psychologist-Psychotherapist, MA in Humanistic Psychology, President of the Institute for Psychosocial Intervention (Opou group), Elpida Rikou, PhD Social Psychology, anthropologist, visual artist, Estelle Papadimitriou, Dramaturg, Performance Studies Researcher, Arts Producer, Katerina El Raheb -Academic Researcher, Dance Artist, Assistant Professor in Informatics Applications in Performing Arts, Dept. of Performing and Digital Arts, University of the Peloponnese
Liana Mailli, Pediatrician, ex-President of Medecins du Monde Grece, (Basal Ganglia group), Manolis Iliakis, Architect-Spatial designer, Interior Design Pathway Leader in Vakalo College of Art and Design, Maria Maistrello, Dance and Educational Drama Teacher, Marianthi Michailidou, Choreographer, Performer, Dance Teacher, (Basal Ganglia group), Nadi Gogoulou, Dance Artist, Dancer, Performer and Dancemaker with a video-ing practice, Nikos Sideris, Designer / Visual Artist, Stephanos Stathopoulos, Industrial Designer
Yiannis Theakos, Sustainability Consultant and Wellbeing Counselor, Yorgos Samantas, Social Anthropologist, Sound Artist.
Scoring Corporealities kicked off with a residency offered by Flux Laboratory Athens. Christina Delari, Head of Partnerships & Culture – Athens and Mr. Makis Kapsalis, made this a most inspiring kickstart. This amazing old factory, office building and parking space in Benizelou street, a place in transition, hosted our group workshops, exploring notions of corporeality and corporality, place and space, and community via body/word Performance writing processes. The current findings and questions where shared with the group in a communal, online research depository.
As we proceeded, more bodies supported the two-fold research by means of contact with their respective communities, feedback and dissemination, work spaces on and offline. Special thanks to the supporting organizations in Greece and abroad: Kinitiras, Artistic Network of Performing Arts, Duncan Dance Research Centre, Dance House Lefkosia and TWIXTlab.
After extended reflection among the core group, we proceeded conducted long 1-1 interviews with each guest researcher to shed more light, exchange perpsectives, examples, refferences, findings and questions relating to they key research notions and processes.
Pause and further reflection while we prepared the second phase of the research: Corporeal Communities. Four two-day research workshops consisting again of b/w PW tools and principles, enriched and updated by the previous research stage, Scoring Corporealities. The workshops were for mixed groups a) aged 50+/- years old, b) with and without movement impediment or disabilities, c) different level of knowledge and experience in dance and writing, d) online, for people living in places away in the same city, county, country, continent. The original group of guest researchers was expanded by people responding to an open call. Additional supporters offered physical and digital working spaces as well as community reach out: Studio Trajectory in Exarcheia, liminal in Theatrou Square for fully accessible venue, Kypselis 94, rehearsal studio. The workshops were realised thanks to the support by the J.F. Costopoulos Foundation and a collaboration with TWIXTlAb .
Last, but most certainly not least, following yet another round of reflections among the core group, an online questionaire was sent individually to all participants.
This admittedly large and demanding project has been most inspiring, rewarding and fruitful.
It was an added value that the twofold research lead to an exciting collaboration with the then newborn FLOCK COLLECTIVE: “10+1 dance stories, based on the body/word Performance Writing research Corporeal Communities“, co-written by myself, Iliana Fylla and Thalia Ditsa, published with the aegis and support of the Greek Ministry of Culture.
The research and the book were shared publicly, in the flesh in the Duncan Dance Research Centre thanks to the support of the Vyronas Municipality, and online, thanks to the support of Dance House Lefkosia, Cyprus.
Grateful to close collaborators, Iliana Fylla and Thalia Ditsa, all the guest reseearchers and workshop participants, journalists and of course all the supporting bodies.
Thank you EveryBody * ~
Group “selfie” from the Corporeal Communities research workshop group with and without movement impediment and disabilities, April 2024.
