Soliloquy (otherwise known as Hauntological Somatics) is a somatic practice developed by dance artist Monika Błaszczak. Soliloquy arises at the intersection of hauntology, choreography, somatics, healing, writing and climate action via climate grief. Through attending to the Soliloquy exercises, the practitioners can meet with the ghosts of their pasts, presents and futures that are absent//present in their bodies and in the landscapes they inhabit. As we practice Soliloquy, we ask ourselves: what kind of ghostly dancing is possible – and necessary – on a dying planet? We come together in our spectral becoming, in movement and in stillness.
During our time at Independent Dance, we will mainly engage with the task of making a gift/a present/an offering through our movement. We will be making gifts to our ancestors, to our (real or imagined) great-grandchildren, to our lovers, to our friends and to ourselves, but most importantly: to the land we will be dancing on. In Soliloquy, we want to engage with the land in a reciprocal relationship of mutual care, response-ability and love – rather than only extracting and taking, we want to give back to the land. May our gift to the land be our movement, our dancing, our spectral becoming.
There are 8 free places for Tuesday’s classes for artists who graduated from a BA between 2020-2022. These are offered on a first come first served basis. To book one of these places, please email info@independentdance.co.uk with your university or college name.
Join us for a coffee after class (open to all) so we can meet and learn about your practice and let you know more about Independent Dance and the work we do.
Monika Błaszczak (aka Maok) – Polish-Łemko choreographer, dancer, interdisciplinary artist who works within the fields of choreography, dance, somatics, hauntology, visual arts, music, queer-feminist discourse and work that responds to climate crisis. In their long-term project Soliloquy, they are designing a somatic practice which incorporates hauntological concepts into choreographic thinking, by considering the impact of non-linear time on bodies. They recently participated in the La Wayaka Current residency in the Atacama Desert in Chile in a close relationship with the Licanantay community, where they were expanding their work with Soliloquy. They presented work at Tate Modern, The Place, Victoria and Albert Museum, Laban Theatre, Polish Dance Theatre, Stedelijk, South London Gallery, V.O Curations, East London Dance and other venues. They graduated from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, UK, thanks to a full scholarship from The Berek Trust and The Talents Foundation, as well as from the National Ballet School in Poznań, Poland. They are a founding member of the MassHysteria Collective.