Attending to Movement

Overview

What does it actually mean to embody an idea or action? What has somatic practice to offer the teaching and development of modern dance? How can an investigation of our embodied movement open up the possibility of making new choices - on an individual, social, cultural or political level? How can somatic practice be used to open up intercultural dialogue? How can embodied art exist alongside social and religious practice? How far should either aspire to inform or alter the other? How can practices like The Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais and Chiropractic more fully influence dance, movement and choreographic practice? How can writing truly embody the autobiography that shapes the movement of any individual? This edited collection draws on the conference, Attending to Movement: Somatic Perspectives on Living in this World, run at C-DaRE, the Centre for Dance Research, Coventry University, 12 - 14 July, 2013. Somatic practitioners, dance artists and scholars from a wide range of subject domains cross discipline borders and investigate the approaches that embodied thinking and action can offer to philosophical and socio-cultural inquiry. The book celebrates and builds upon the work of visionary dance artist, teacher and scholar Gill Clarke (1954 -2011), who championed the value of somatic approaches within and beyond dance education and creative practice. [Movement, Dance, Literature, Sociology]