Simon Whitehead reflects on how bodies practice places and how these processes might be part of experiencing and re-imagining a village. Drawing on notions from the field of social ecology, Simon considers how people might practice ‘home’, make sense of their environment and interact together, starting with his walking practice. He discusses his strategies for inviting a person to be part of something that is bigger than the individual, and proposes a cluster of experiences, sometimes dances, that might amplify and inculcate resonance or joy and help to build an unbounded sense of ‘village.’
Learn More:
Article ‘Bringing It All Back Home: Towards an Ecology of Place’ by Carl Lavery and Simon Whitehead
Website Maynard – A resource for dance and movement artists in rural Wales
This talk was part of Crossing Borders 2016 and was presented in partnership with London Contemporary Dance School.
Simon Whitehead is a movement artist who has lived and worked in rural Wales for 22 years. Originally a geographer, his practice is located, relational and embraces a wide network of connections. He makes his performance work, curates a dance micro festival and co-manages dance residencies in his home village of Abercych, Pembrokeshire and travels widely, often by foot!
He has collaborated consistently with Melbourne- based sound artist Barnaby Oliver and he has developed the ongoing annual Locator series of workshops, exploring ideas around location, ecology and movement practice.
He is a craniosacral therapist, a Creative Research Fellow in the Faculty of Arts Aberystwyth University and lives with his 2 daughters and partner in the village of Abercych, west Wales.
