Writing by the seaside
After half a year, the partners in writing movement finally had the chance to meet up again during the ke∂ja encounter in Klaipeda, 13-16’th June, 2013.
Performances, workshops, a boattrip and Writing Movement partners meeting- in ke∂ja Klaipeda, on the Lithuanian seaside.
Ingrida Gerbutaviciute, who organises writing movement activities in Lithuania through the Lithuanian Dance Information Centre had, in collaboration with Fish Eye the organisers of the Klaipeda encounter, planned Writing Movement events into the official program. Arnd Weseman, chief editor of the influential German dance journal, Tanz, gave a lecture on the second day of the encounter. Weseman spoke on national identity in dance as a political tool, and the possible role of the contemporary critic in revealing the construction of identity politics in state funded and condoned art institutions.
Cecilia Olsson speaks on National Identity
Another Writing Movement activity on offer in Klaipeda, was starting your mornings with a three-day workshop held by Swedish Dance researcher Cecilia Olsson on how National Identity and invisible power structures affects how critics both read and represent dance. Olsson started from the point of writing as a performative act and involved the workshop group in discussions on the critics responsibility of awareness of one’s own often subconscious and culturally determined preconceptions and prejudices. Apart from the Writing Movement partners, encounter participants from mainly Lithuania, Norway and Sweden took part in this part of the program. Read about one of the tasks in the workshop as reported by Maja Treile and Inta Balode on dance.lv, the Latvian partner in the project.
In the two meetings the group of partners managed to squeeze into the busy encounter schedule, we mainly focused on sharing experiences from all the seminar-, workshop and dicussion activities that have been going on this winter and spring. In addition we laboured heavily on working out the details of the Writing Movement Call for Articles which will be launched at the end of August. Writors interested in dance will be asked to submit proposals for articles with the chance for a fee to develop texts and support in regards to publication. We’re now in the process of getting potential Nordic and Baltic media channels to get on board the project and hope we’ll be able to exchange dance texts across our borders through the funding we’ve earmarked translation.
Workshop participants from the Nordic and Baltic countries engaging in discussions in Cecilia Olssons workshop
A year into the Writing Movement project we register that the exchange between the partners is growing by each time we meet, and happily notice that the interest in the local project activities have been strong. More reports from the different events will be published soon, as well as news on upcoming events.