This talk recounts the project Philosophising Improvisation, which was a collaboration between philosophers Aaron Meskin and Jade Fletcher and the independent dancers who comprise Improvisation Exchange Leeds. Together they devised a project in which ‘dancers did more philosophising and philosophers did more dancing.’ In a series of workshops, the dancers and philosophers explored the interrelations between philosophy and improvisational dance through discussion of various philosophical texts and a wide range of improvisational exercises and scores. One central focus was the role of various forms of knowledge in dance improvisation. Aaron talks about the way that the working methods of the dancers influenced and challenged the philosophers, and the ways in which philosophical investigation has informed and challenged the dancers in their artistic practices.
This talk was part of Crossing Borders 2017 and was presented in partnership with London Contemporary Dance School.
Aaron Meskin is associate professor of Philosophy at the University of Leeds where he directs the Centre for Aesthetics and the Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Thought programme. He has edited five books and authored numerous articles on aesthetics and other philosophical topics. He has spoken at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, the Thought Bubble Comics Festival, ProDance Leeds, Beacons Music Festival, Deer Shed Festival, as well as at numerous academic venues.
Bio as published in 2017.
