14th NOFOD conference Helsinki June 2019

14th NOFOD CONFERENCE, HELSINKI 12-15.6.2019

CALL FOR PAPERS

Practice, Participation and Politics

The aim of the 14th international dance conference NOFOD (Nordic Forum

for Dance Research) is to explore dance practices in their participatory

possibilities and political significances. In the context of NOFOD, dance

practices include both the fields of dance art in its various forms, dance

pedagogy and dance research.

The participatory possibilities within each field may seem widely apart from

each other but surprising entanglements and crossing points emerge.

Research practices may be academic, practice based and artistic based and

of course combinations of all of these. In dance/research the most

intriguing results are perhaps truly graspable when the knowledge from the

research is intertwined with dance practice and the research is made within

that practice itself.

Within different dance genres such as contemporary dance, breakdance,

hiphop, folk dance, ballet and bollywood etc. - who sets the agenda, who

are the dancers, why are the dancers who they are, and what kind of bodies

are asked for or developed? And how do dance/research practices

themselves participate in other context and in larger sociopolitical structures.

Themes such as politics in dance, politics and dance, or dance as politics may

show how different perspectives how politics can be seen as having directly

and indirectly influenced the dance field during former times as well as

today. For example: How do politically based decisions influence. - if - how

and to what extent - children and young people will get the chance to

experience dancing in schools, as leisure activity and elsewhere. Or: How

does state funding or other funding affect dance practices and participatory

possibilities?

Further questions and possible topics:

Practices of inclusion and exclusion in dance

How do practitioners experience their practices - and how do people outside

the practices experience the practices?

How does practice and identity relate to each other?

How does participation work in research?

Who is included in dance and research?

In what ways do participatory practices challenge dance history making?

Hierarchies in dance and research practices

How can practitioners and researchers influence the politics of dance?

Dance as conservative practice

Dance breaking borders - dance and research as a way of change and

freedom?

What does politics within dance and politics connected to various dance

practices mean?

How do shifts and changes in the political climate affect, and how are they

affected by dance practices?

What kind of politics is involved in deciding who is able to participate in

research and in practice?

Proposals

Striving to embrace a plurality of approaches connected with the themes of

practice, participation and politics the organizers warmly welcome you to the

Theatre Academy Helsinki, which is hosting the 14th international NOFOD

conference 12th - 15th June 2019.

For the upcoming conference the NOFOD board welcomes a wide range of

proposals for presentations: movement workshops, paper presentations,

lecture-demonstrations, roundtable discussions, lecture performances,

conversations, as well as other formats. Guidelines for proposals:

We encourage you to submit a wide range of proposals:

- Paper presentations: 20 minutes + up to 10 minutes discussion

- Lecture-demonstrations: 60 minutes all included

- Roundtable discussions and conversations: 60 minutes all included

- Movement workshops: 60 minutes all included

Other formats: please specify whether the format needs 20 minutes or 60

minutes.

We welcome proposals in the form of abstracts of no more than 300 words

including:

1. Presenter's name

2. Affiliation

3. E-mail addresses.

4. Abstact, max 300 words.

Send the proposals by 31st October 2018 to mikko.orpana@uniarts.fi

Hope to see you in Helsinki!