Dance Engaging Science Workshop No. 3

Dance Engaging Science

Workshop No.3

Prior to this third meeting, 28-30 September 2012, the Volkswagen Foundation had agree to allow resources intended for a fourth meeting to be used to support the individual collaborative research projects that had been discussed at the end of the second meeting. The group coming together for this third meeting focused on two goals: 1) develop, clarify and write up the individual research directions; 2) draft a concrete version of the shared policy statement.

Michael Steinbush, Dana Caspersen (demonstrating), Elizabeth Waterhouse, Scott deLahunta, Wolf Singer. Photo: Jessica Schäfer

This meeting was held in the same building as the rehearsal spaces of The Forsythe Company, but in the Z Zentrum spaces run by ID-Frankfurt. The meeting was organised to be as flexible as possible with blocks set aside for individual research projects to meet and plan. One main group discussion was organised on Saturday mid-day when all the individual groups reported on their progress. From these meetings 11 new collaborative research projects informed by questions from dance practice were developed.

Foreground: Maaike Bleeker & Elizabeth Waterhouse discussing project. Photo: Jessica Schäfer

These projects fell into three main categories:

1) PILOT COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS (dance, cognitive & neuroscience, social science)

2) LAYING GROUNDWORK / DEEPENING UNDERSTANDING (dancers in research labs)

3) COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THEORY & CONTEXT (building wider reflective spaces)

A more detailed list on pages 6-7 of the Interim Report.

Patrick Haggard, Bettina Bläsing & Freya Vass-Rhee discussing project. Photo: Jessica Schäfer

A new proposal was submitted for approval to the Volkswagen Foundation that focused on these 11 individual collaborative research projects and the joint drafting of a “Statement of Principles” (the shared policy statement) due for publication in Spring 2013. It was planned to present results from the new projects and the “Statement of Principles” at the Tanzkongress in Dusseldorf 6-9 June 2013, alongside the first Motion Bank score release.

Saturday group meeting. Photo: Jessica Schäfer

For more details on the meeting, see the Interim Report (November 2012) prepared for the Volkswagen Foundation covering Dance Engaging Science Interdisciplinary Research Workshops Meetings 1-3. Additional documentation: 1) News Report on the Volkswagen Foundation website; 2) A four-page story from IMPULSE 13, the Foundation's regular periodical (in German only).