Centre for Dance Research

What does social choreography mean today, and to what extent can this field provide new frameworks to help address the issue of cultural stereotyping of refugees?Violent military conflict, environmental crises, breakdown of social, racial or ethnic integration, are some of the many reasons why millions of peoples are being displaced across the world. Immigration is regarded today as arguably one of the most pressing political issues by voters and the wider public, and not only in a post-Brexit UK. Whilst the problem of forced migration is typically addressed from within the social sciences (e.g. migration and diaspora studies, sociology, political science, or development studies), little is known about the way in which the movement arts and bodily perspectives are responding to such crises. The gap in knowledge that the network is aiming to address concerns a lack of understanding of embodied socio-choreographic practice at a regional and cross-national level. 

This network brings together experts from dance and somatic practices, health and digital design to explore the living, sensate and subjectively experienced body in context as a means of understanding chronic pain and self-care strategies. 

The project aims at leveraging photographic content in Europeana depicting the 1950s in Europe, connecting today’s citizens with the post-war generation whose dreams of a better life led to the establishment of the European Union. Kaleidoscope wants to increase engagement with Europeana content, by heightening user interaction through crowdsourcing and co-curation. 

CultureMoves is a user-oriented project that aims to develop a series of digital tools and services that will enable new forms of touristic engagement and educational resources by leveraging the re-use of Europeana content. The project stands on 3 pillars: technology for content re-use adaptation and sharing, real-life use cases for tourism and education, intangible cultural heritage and more specifically dance.

The objective is to inform policy-making in both South Africa and the UK in relation to IP and diversity strategies for the micro creative industries and international trade. It is also to create strong and lasting conversations among academic researchers, creative industry participants, policy-makers and practitioners across South Africa and the UK; and to foster new academic links between South Africa and the UK through which new research proposals can emerge. This project, and subsequent ones arising out of network activities will also help to strengthen understanding of, and adoption of good practice around IP and diversity by arts and cultural practitioners, thus ensuring greater sustainability for this sector.