Event 4 was a two day research retreat from 12-14 June at Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking in Stroud, followed by a public workshop at Bath Spa University with our international guests Melanie Kloetzel (Canada) and Marisol Paulina Vargas. 11 international participants from varied disciplines gathered to consider this invitation from the co-investigators: We are interested in exploring together systems and processes of organising, relating, coexisting and conversing that manifest in nature. We are curious about how these might inform how we can think about developing a future UK dance ecology. In particular, we want to pay attention to how natural spaces and systems are not always harmonious. For instance, we are interested in how processes of decomposition, monstrous ecologies and de-growth might be relevant to our project and how we might take time together to slow down, reflect and look across practices, positionalities, borders and bodies to explore and consider being otherwise.
Activities included practical movement sessions exploring relationships of reciprocal learning with more-than-human beings, and an encounter with constellations, an embodied technique for engaging with complex systemic issues, with time for dialogue and reflection over shared meals. Below we share a few photos from the two days.
