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Dancing Across the Disciplines Dance Symposium 2010

Cross-Currents of Dance Research and Performance throughout the Global Compass

A three-day international Dance Studies symposium at the University of Otago, New Zealand/Aotearoa
28-30 June 2010

Keynote speakers: Susan Leigh Foster, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, Te Ahukaram? Charles Royal

http://physed.otago.ac.nz/dance/symposium/

CALL FOR PAPERS

The field of dance studies emerged from an interdisciplinary web of theory and practice. Recently, discussions have focused on the ways in which dance scholarship and practices cross disciplinary borders: the special edition on interdisciplinarity of Dance Research Journal (Summer 2009), for instance, addressed this theme. The central issue this symposium will explore is how dance creates fluid and confronting intersections and interactions that (re)define and transform theoretical, methodological and performance frameworks.

The critical questions in focus are:

How are boundaries crossed between dance studies and other academic disciplines, such as architecture, religion, politics, literature, anthropology, etc?

What are the possibilities and challenges for interdisciplinary performance, and for shared, collaborative artistic research?

How is interdisciplinarity defined by geographical and cultural perspectives?

What are the effects of interdisciplinarity on the structures of tertiary (university) dance education?

On 28-30 June 2010, the Dance Studies Programme of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, will host a symposium entitled “Dancing Across the Disciplines: Cross-Currents of Dance Research and Performance throughout the Global Compass”. It seeks to discuss interdisciplinary perspectives on dance that strive to understand historical developments and anticipate the new directions of dance scholarship and performance.

Possible topics include:

Retrospective Historical Analysis of the Interdisciplinarity of Dance

Interdisciplinarity and Challenges of Interdisciplinary Dance Research

Dance and the other Academic Disciplines

Interdisciplinary Dance Training and/or Education

Indigenous Perspectives of the Interdisciplinarity in Dance

Creativity, Innovation and Dance

Dance and the other Arts and Sciences

Significant interdisciplinary artists from New Zealand/Aotearoa will be featured presenters. This three-day event will include panels, artist forums, film viewings, and roundtable discussions.

Proposals are invited for individual papers (max. 20 minutes), panels (of 3-5 speakers), and performative contributions. We welcome abstracts of no more than 300 words (or 500 words for panels). The deadline for abstract submissions is 15 January 2010.

A separate cover page should be prepared with the title of the paper, the name, affiliation and full contact information of the author.

Please send the abstract and cover page as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) to the organizers – Alexandra Kolb, Alison East & Ojeya Cruz Banks – with the subject heading ‘Dance Symposium’ ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Please also indicate which of the four questions/themes listed above you wish to contribute towards.

We are aiming at an informal symposium which fosters intercollegial exchange of perspectives. It is anticipated that selected papers from the conference will be published. Further information about the symposium will be posted on our website at http://www.otago.ac.nz/dancesymposium in due course.

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