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We had to cancel our grand plans om inviting you all to Gothenburg. Instead we asked our partners in the keðja network, www.kedja.net, to put together a program that could happen on a local level but also shared digitally. And here it is: the c/o EDITION!
So, settle in, find a comfy chair* and join us and colleagues from all over Europe online for two days of keynotes, presentations, talks and dancing. Stay for the whole thing or pick a favourite or two.
*not applicable during Daily Dancing
Are you in another time zone?
Please note that the times given in the programme are Central European Summer Time (CEST). Find out more here...
Pre-program
Pre-program 1-19 August c/o The Work Room, Scotland: STRE-TCHing the conversation
A delegation of independent dance artists from The Work Room in Scotland attended Stretch Turku 2019. During July and August, they are initiating conversations with practitioners that they met there from across the Keðja network to share their experiences during the pandemic and hopes for re-activating dance as we re-emerge.
Pre-program 15-19 of August c/o Estonian Dance Art and Dance Education Union, Contemporary Dance Association in Lithuania, Latvian Dance Information Center: Keðja@Tantsumassiiv
Keðja@Tantsumassiiv takes place on 19-20th August in Massiaru at Massia in Estonia.
Workshops:
- Performance art as a tool for democracy - by Denisas Kolomyckis (LT). Curated by Lithuanian Contemporary Dance Association.
- Possibility to Sleep - by Agnese Bordjukova (LV), Alise Bokaldere (LV). Curated by Latvian Dance Info Center.
- Olmeulmad: Gang Spirit - by Age Linkmann (EE), Arolin Raudva (EE), Maarja Tõnisson (EE) and Raho Aadla (EE). Curated by Estonian Dance Art and Dance Education Union.
The event is organised in collaboration with NGO Oma Stuudio and Massia Creative Center. Read more on Facebook here... Read more on tantsuliit.ee here...
20th of August
10:00-10:15 c/o Stretch Gothenburg, Sweden: Opening Keðja presents STRETCH c/o EDITION
10:15-10:55 c/o Stretch Gothenburg, Sweden: Keynote by Efva Lilja
HEY, HEY, WE ARE THE MONKEES
Or
Is There any Reason to Laugh?
Hah, hah, hah, hah and ugly, useless, unworthy up-shit’s-creek. Sore soles on wrong floors and hands slipping create nothing but new experiences and hurt, hurt, hurt. Hah, hah, hah and someone smiles back, toward and along. Soft surfaces give wide leaps and wild flight in body and mind. Stupidity lurks around the corner with incomprehensible sounds, scents and tastes in tow. Hah, hah, hah and what is happening wants more a-crouched and upward. The pulse is rising lustily, intuition and thinking driving, pushing, pressing, doing good and bad to man at the same time without dirtying our luggage.
What do the current political development in Europe do to the art of dance? When conservative and nationalistic politics question contemporary art, we easily get lost in populist ideas on common good and “usefulness”. What do we have to do to avoid performing puppetry, turn into monkeys or getting stuck in despair? In this keynote I share my thinking and doing through dancing, talking, maybe singing…
Efva Lilja is an artist working with choreography in the form of dance, imagery, film and writing. ”Choreographed events and imagery challenge and offer new visions for the creation of a reality where political activities and everyday action can be questioned and reformulated”. Her award-winning works have been presented in more that 35 countries, often seen as controversial and trailblazing. Efva Lilja is also a popular lecturer and has published 11 books. As an activist she is a member of various international bodies where she has an active role in the development of art policies and the conditions for artists to engage in artistic research. More information at: www.efvalilja.se.
The keynote will be followed by a Q&A with Efva Lilja moderated by Jesper de Neergaard.
11:00– 11:15 c/o The Work Room, Scotland: DAILY DANCING
Since the beginning of lockdown in Scotland on the 23 March, Emma Jayne Park (Cultured Mongrel) has brought together people on Zoom for a 10 minute daily dance to start the day. You are invited to join with this on-line community on Thursday the 20th of August and Friday 21st of August and dance together for ten minutes to a playlist composed by the resident DJ. Turn your speakers up, make sure your video is on (so that everyone feels comfortable and can dance together) and then just don’t hurt yourself on any furniture.
No judgement, just dancing. P.S. Don't forget to download Spotify!
11:25-12:05 c/o Stretch Gothenburg, Sweden: Key-Note by Rani Nair and Nasim Aghili: FINDING SISTERHOOD
Rani Nair (choreographer and dancer) and Nasim Aghili (director, writer and performer) will talk about two of their projects in the queer feminist art collective Ful and their work with the audience/participants. Finding Sisterhood is a decolonizing and queer mapping of contemporary dance and performance arts. The project wants to create a space, a platform and a practice that presents, makes and creates a further language for artistic practitioners who, instead of discussing whiteness and cis and heteronorms are in dialogue with their own communities working with queer expressions, decolonizing or re-indigenizing. The Baba Karam project consists of participatory dance parties that evolve through and originate from the Iranian dance style Baba Karam and its use of masculine drag. Inspired by women-only and other separatist parties, gatherings are staged with both performers and guests (audience) where queer desires and western norms concerning dance and drag are overturned. Baba Karam is participatory both in its form and in its way of including civil society in the process and production.
Nasim Aghili is a Swedish-Iranian artist, director, writer and performer. Nasim works in the field of performing and visual arts and their participatory performances, theatre installations and art in the public space often deal with the experience of existing and living in different forms of exile and take the form of healing rituals. Nasim Aghili’s plays have been translated to different languages such as English, Spanish and Arabic and their work has been performed or presented in countries such as Puerto Rico, England, Mexico, US, Holland, Estonia and Sápmi.
Rani Nair is a dancer and choreographer based in Sweden. Rani´s works have been programmed at the Centre National de la Danse Paris, ImpulsTanz Vienna, Spielart festival Munich, Ignite! Festival of contemporary dance Delhi, Singapore International Festival of Arts. Represented at the Performing arts museum, Dance museum in Stockholm and in the book Oxford Dictionary of Dance and Re-enactment.
The keynote will be followed by a Q&A with Rani Nair and Nasim Aghili moderated by Moa Matilda Sahlin.
12:15-12:45 c/o Estonian Dance Art and Dance Education Union, Contemporary Dance Association in Lithuania, Latvian Dance Information Center: Live Stream panel discussion Common Experiences as the Cornerstones of Community.
From the residency location Massia in Estonia, and the dance platform Tantsumassiv we will see a panel discussion consisting of representatives from the dance field from all the Baltic countries.
12:45-13:30 Break
13:30-14:00 c/o The Work Room, Scotland: STRE-TCHing the conversation
A delegation of independent dance artists from The Work Room in Scotland attended Stretch Turku 2019. During July and August, they are initiating conversations with practitioners that they met there from across the Kedja network to share their experiences during the pandemic and hopes for re-activating dance as we re-emerge. This session/s will include short presentations from the artists, reflecting on these digital conversations and re-imaging a sustainable future for dance.
Sara Kemal & Ina Locmele – a conversation about finding the quiet.
Ina Ločmele is a Riga based producer and project manager and mostly working with contemporary dance. Sara Kemal is a dance artist based in Glasgow.
Kathryn Spence & Gulli Seskse
Kathryn Spence talks with Gulli Sekse of Carte Blanche to explore ways of engaging with audiences through historical ties and ecologically friendly touring, specifically between Shetland and Norway.
14:10-14:40 STRE-TCHing the conversation: Continuation
Chrissie Ardill, Niamh O’Loughlin, Amanda Billberg & Emelie Boman
Chrissie is a dance artist and aerialist from Kilkenny, Ireland, based in Glasgow, Scotland. She makes movement in many disciplines and contexts. Niamh is a dance artist from Dublin, Ireland, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She’s interested in making, improvising and work for young audiences. Amanda Billberg is a dancer and choreographer based in Västerås, Sweden. Amandas work is often focused on relations and non-linear narratives. Emelie Boman is a dance artist and filmmaker from Umeå, Sweden. She specialises in creating dance for film.
Emma Jayne Park & Thomas Schaupp
Emma Jayne Park is a dancer, theatre maker and collaborator working under the Creative Handle Cultured Mongrel. She asks questions and is obsessed with asking better questions. Thomas Schaupp is a freelance dance dramaturg based in Reykjavík and Berlin, who asked Str-etch 2019 attendees to step out of their bubble and relate their own work to the society.
21st of August
Introduction to Keðja talks: The New Normal
At the start of this year we could not have predicted what was to come. The pandemic has had an effect on every aspect of our lives including culture and art. What has it meant and how have we as a field adapted? At the same time we we feel the urgency of the climate crisis. If the pandemic has show us something it is that we as a society can make big changes in a short amount of time, a new normal.
All the talks will start with an introduction and after the introduction everone is welcome to take part in the conversation.
Join one talk or all!
10:00-10:45 c/o Dance Info Finland: Keðja talk – Building blocks for the future? Working internationally in the age of ecological (& pandemic) crisis.
The ecological crisis made us imagine a new normal for working internationally in the arts, the pandemic crisis forced us to adapt to it. Our dance community has been plunged into new (virtual) ways of working, meeting and connecting, when international mobility is at a standstill. Is this what the ecologically sustainable future holds for our international collaborations – and do we like it?In this talk we ask: are there some practices coming out of this performing arts crisis that we want to take with us to the future of working internationally? Introduction by Ben Twist, director of Carbon Creative Scotland, and one of the keynote speakers from Stretch Turku 2019. He will share his thoughts on what the ongoing ”deglobalisation” means for artists and what the vision for the future should be. This talk will feed into the sustainability work of kedja.
11:00–11:15 c/o The Work Room, Scotland: DAILY DANCING
Since the beginning of lockdown in Scotland on the 23 March, Emma Jayne Park (Cultured Mongrel) has brought together people on Zoom for a 10 minute daily dance to start the day. You are invited to join with this on-line community on Thursday the 20th of August and Friday 21st of August and dance together for ten minutes to a playlist composed by the resident DJ. Turn your speakers up, make sure your video is on (so that everyone feels comfortable and can dance together) and then just don’t hurt yourself on any furniture.
No judgement, just dancing. P.S. Don't forget to download Spotify!
11:15-12:00 c/o Dansearena Nord, Norway: Keðja talk – From a regional (arctic?) point of view.
The production of artistic work and thematic focus is highly connected to who the artists are and the circumstances affecting their lives. In this session, Sami Choreographer Elle Sofe Sara will introduce and share her reflections on being an indigenous person, a parent, an artist and a person who lives far away from most of the conveniences of a urban city life.
12:00-12:45 Break
12:45-13:30 c/o Regional Dance Centre of Western Finland: Keðja talk – What happens to the audience?
How are audiences going online in 2020? What are the important changes in how people use digital and social media and mobile devices? How can dancers take advantage of current digital opportunities to build and engage audiences? Come and hear about the top digital headlines, essential trends and opportunities for dancers! Simon Kemp is the founder and CEO of Kepios, a management consultancy, and chief analyst at DataReportal. In Stretch 2020, Kemp focuses on the future of digital hold and what are some things that dancers should look out for – and benefit from.
13:45-14:30 c/o Dansearena Nord, Norway: Keðja talk – Connecting to the local - how to work sustainable in a local context? Introduction by Maria Landmark.
Maria K. Landmark works as the only professional choreographer in Alta, Northern Norway. Maria K. Landmarks artistic work is often developed in a dialouge with the place the work is happening. How can dance become an important part of a community and how can a choreographer use the local environment and infrastructure as an inspiration for new ideas to artistic work? Maria K. Landmark set out on a journey with Alta about 7 years ago and since then she has used choreography as a way to communicate with the city.
14:30–14:45 c/o Stretch Gothenburg, Sweden: Bye Bye from Stretch Gothenburg
(Unfortunately the evening program c/o Dansverkstæðið, Iceland: Closing party! Teenage Dance Party is cancelled due to new corona restrictions in Iceland.)