What moves us, and how do we articulate and think through movement? What Now 2014 brought a group of 20 artists to live and work together at Siobhan Davies Studios for four days, culminating in a series of public talks, events and discussions over the weekend, which looked at the thinking body through different lenses: language, writing, philosophy, geography, education and performance.
Independent Dance’s archive held the four public talks, accompanied by filmed group discussions. There is also a reflective paper by Alexandra Baybutt which explores the organisational context that gave rise to this and other What festivals. Below, we share a short selection from an archived collaborative document entitled ‘Festival Content’ , generated by festival curator Frank Bock and ‘space holders’ Efrosini Protopapa, Hamish MacPherson, and Katye Coe.
What_Now 2014 was presented by Independent Dance in association with Siobhan Davies studios.
Excerpt from ‘Festival Content’:
What moves us, and how we can articulate and think through movement, lies at the centre of this festival. It continues Independent Dance’s ongoing interest in developing the way somatic practices, philosophy and science can operate together.
Over four days and three nights, those involved will draw upon the body in relation to theory and philosophy. They will be living and sleeping in Siobhan Davies Studios in London, working on and with actions, without necessarily producing choreographic objects. The group will follow strands of thought, host guest speakers whose contributions will feed into their processes, and address new forms of social organisation and production. Activities might include building and dismantling structures and performing cyclical actions, through which we can engage with, and function within, a cycle of speeds.
