Abundance of Exchange – no me but for you!

“In the times of political unrest it is quite a challenge to be an artist.” I reached out for advice from Keith Hennessy as I was receiving sad violent news from my country - just around the 3rd Symposium of IDOCDE.  “And then one person's news is another person's life or country or body!” he started to reply, as he continued with an advise of not keeping silent. And Kerstin Kussmaul made the cry heard at her opening speech of Teaching Form[less]? -- hoping for creating change ourselves in the times of political unrest all around the world...

In another time Nita Little was already discussing the “dangerous potential” we have against “the system” as the dancers; informed of our bodies and movement as ways of knowing -- to be spoken to culture. As we are always emergent and we come from nowhere...  “Between absence and presence there lays the potential, where we start to make decision about what we see, how we see, if we see” adds Nita “and if you can make decisions about your attention, then you are dangerous. Perceptual decisions change the possibilities of action. Decisions are critical on what you think that exists.” 

All of which emerged following the question “At what point do we start recognizing form?” and continued till the time was up as the conversation was getting further into relationality of our work; i.e.  “we are ecological beings, since there’s no me but for you” and how we give value to “time” as dance artists and teachers.

All this was after Sabine Parzer’s session where she was also proposing to play with a “pelvic clock” to initiate spine ondulations and Christy Funsch shared 100 Prompts she offered to create 100 days long of prompts to support Rowena Richie’s curiosity and just before the symposium participants started to discuss about “time” at the “Kitchen Table” almost helping me -Defne Erdur- to get ready for my Sunday session “Embodying Time”.

Yet, just before all that, Marie Chabert was leading the Idocdeistas into fine-tuning into their body and the upcoming mental and physical workouts and Kira Kirsch & Antoine Ragot were investigating Arabesque towards multiple modes of movement. Tamás Bakó & Zsuzsa Rózsavölgyi were already getting ready for forming improvisation sensations and Susan Bentley was putting up a sign-up sheet for pole “being and doing sexy”.

Followingly, news and gossips of the sessions were already spreading around the symposium corridors. It was becoming clear that there is a common need to investigate how we as dance teachers can support students/artists to meet the various needs and demands of the changing society. And Ulla Mäkinen had her share in “TALK” investigating into what this may mean in dance and dance teaching.

As Nita was already talking about decisions during “The Politics of Formlessness”, Benno Voorham in parallel timing was giving emphasis to choice making and strategies to break down the influence and impact of music on dancers.

Not everybody was attending all these sessions. The “Oriental Room” was hosting some new arriving, transitioning symposiumers. They could have a little chat next to the tea samovar and even take a short nap before jumping in the refreshing and stimulating waters of the pool of Teaching Form[less]?

Some of the volunteers were also not present then and there; since they had to chop some onions and carrots for the Indian dhal dinner that Rakesh Sukesh prepared for all the participants to be enjoyed right after the Kitchen Table discussion.

There was plenty of the dal and the great rice, but those dancers willing to join Sybrig Dokter’s “Food for the Day” session on Sunday morning left early. And for those who were willing to do “Nothing” on Sunday; Mariella Greil, Kerstin Kussmaul and Sylvia Scheidl were ready to offer their research on “nothing”… Whereas Gregory Chevalier & Michael O’Conner decided to share their ongoing researches in the spontaneously opened space for “Sharing Practices” -- then and there anatomy & touch opened space for music & drawing into dancing.

No, no; dancing was never enough! We had to be “fast and furious” to fit in the schedule thanks to Gretchen Dunn, Liisa Pentti and Francesco Scavetta. Time and again, for us dancers performing and finding different forms to communicate is never enough either. So we had Pavle Heidler giving a practice based seminar on recognition as Rachel Boggia, Annie Kloppenberg and Meredith Lyons were embodying logics and aesthetic in a performance, workshop and research platform. Where as Susanne Marx, Barbara Meneses and Jesus de Vega were utilizing the projector (that Kurt Mosetter used the first day to give a lecture on the famous fascia- connecting us all over) to sharing & sharpening their tools for teaching contemporary dance to children based on the work of choreographers Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten.

As we were slowly slothing with Mira Mutka and approaching towards the end of the Symposium; “tête–à–tête” meetings on a carpet ride started to take place. Einav Katan, Nita Little, Francesco Scavetta, Kerstin Kussmaul, Defne Erdur and many others were interviewing each other for deeper digging in the studies, projects and ideas... that were launched off by Shelley Senter and Ismael Ivo’s triggering thoughts at the very Opening and had been bounced here and there during the full days of the Symposium that were so gracefully hosted by Olivia Schellander and the volunteers.

As Campfire lit by Matthew Smith and Shelley Senter, blown by Nicole Berndt-Caccivio, Symposium Team and all the participants feels like still burning in our bodies and minds as we leave the ImPulsTanz grounds... We feel lucky to have idocde.net to share the ongoing burnings... 

Yes, yes, the ones who needed more support to dive into the idocde website and documentation world got their playful inquiry at the “Treasure Hunt” facilitated by Eszter Gal and Martin Streit. We hope the inspiration was there. If that was not enough, we remind you the joy of idocde sharings that were witnessed the very first day of the Symposium; i.e. the fruits of the IDOCDE and the LEAP projects : LEAP teaching residencies “Surprise Yourself!” and “The Choreography of Documentation”.

Keep your words, images, videos and creative documentation skills up – more projects are arising out of this Documentation World of Wonders... And there is already 1000 users of idocde awaiting your news... “And then one person's news is another person's life or country or body!” and we shall keep connected since in our world “we are ecological beings, since there’s no me but for you”.

And as Michael Obrist also hinted in the Closing on Contemporary Architecture, life and around means of creating life with/in objects: isn’t it a search for freedom out of the forms, the co-existence of negotiating subjects as a constant “disappearance of all objects, all you for protection is in the ground”?

Defne Erdur  August 6th, 2015

Bouyon - France