3rd Biennial International Dance Conference

Decolonizing Bodies: Engaging Performance

23rd to 26th May 2018
University of the West Indies
Cave Hill Campus, Barbados

CFP Deadline: 15 February 2018

The University of the West Indies Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination (EBCCI) invites proposals for papers; movement workshops; performances; site-specific works; academic posters; dance for the camera; theater, and multidisciplinary projects for the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination 3rd Biennial International Dance Conference, May 23rd to 26th, 2018.

We welcome dance professionals, practitioners and scholars across disciplines from around the world whose research focuses on decolonization to contribute to dynamic discussions and cultural encounters on the topic: “Decolonizing Bodies: Engaging Performance”.

Colonialism strategically positioned the aesthetics of the dominant group as a model under which any other cultural expression is held in a subaltern state. It is argued that dance and the performing arts in general have, as a consequence, been held under an imposition of a rigid, mono-cultural and patriarchal aesthetic model. Globalization, on the other hand, as an epistemological project of colonialism, perpetuates the invisibility of uprooted cultures of countries from the Global South deemed “less valuable”, which are strategically appropriated by the hegemonic high art. According to the theoretical postulates of the Caribbean philosophers Frantz Fanon and Aimé Césaire, decolonization begins with awareness, opposition to hierarchies and institutions of socio-political power, and the creation of forms of human solidarity.

This conference, therefore, asks practitioners to interrogate the established structures and the creative individual, as well as philosophical and educational processes, towards the search for decolonization of the body and the form; and by so doing effect a decolonization of knowledge specifically in dance but generally across disciplines. We therefore invite responses to the following questions from perspectives that include but are not limited to gender, race and social class:

  • What is the impact of fusion forms in knowledge production, language and traditions?
  • How can the current category of contemporary dance be expanded to include a dancing body
    “other”?
  • Is there still a role for ritual to play in informing performance?
  • How do dancers negotiate the market forces in both their training and professional lives?
  • What possible changes in dance education may support the development of the awareness of self-identity among dance/performing arts students around the world mesmerized by the
  • commercialized styles broadcast by the media?
  • How is the discourse and performance of cultural difference negotiated spatially and physically
  • What kind of gaze focuses on the dancing bodies that reside in migration sites and in the Global
    South?
  • To what extent can dance forms “others” can be consciously diversified/hybridized while
    avoiding the pitfall of appropriation?
  • To what extent are the multi-culturalist/inter-culturalist projects valid?
  • In what way can the project of decolonizing dance as an artistic discipline be expanded?
  • Which bodies are allowed to show the dance and which are not?
  • What is the impact of a homogenizing aesthetic to creative forms in the periphery?
  • What is the responsibility of dance practitioners, cultural activists and dance scholars in the
    project of the decolonization of the body and in the production of knowledge?

Conference sessions will include:
Individual Paper Presentations – original research including in-depth exploration and analysis of an issue related to the conference theme.
[20 minutes paper followed by a 10 minutes for Q &A]
Curated Panels – organized panels of 3-4 papers on related topics, each presenting original research related to the conference theme.
[3-4 panelists – 1.5 hours] [15-20 minutes paper followed by 10 minutes for Q & A]
Workshops – practical presentations of fusion dance forms including a narrative component
based on the applied pedagogy of fusion.
[45 minutes followed by a 15 minutes for Q & A]
Performance and Dance for the Camera – presentation. Six to eight dance works approximately 10 to 15 minutes in length will be selected to be part of the program as well as six to eight Dance for Camera works. A minimum of five years of professional choreography experience is required. Submission of video of the proposed work must be in its full version with a link to an online resource such as YouTube or Vimeo.

Submission Guidelines

  • Digital submission only – Mailed paper proposals will not be accepted.
  • Deadline for abstracts and videos: February 15th, 2018
  • Notification of acceptance: March 15th, 2018
  • Submission date for publication of papers: July 15th, 2018
  • Conference registration fees: US$300 (early registration from December 15th), US$350 after April 25th.
  • Abstract Submission Portal: https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/mcmains/346031
  • Proposal submission – contact: Neri.Torres@cavehill.uwi.edu

Abstract Submission Details

  1. Abstracts should clearly explain the question, concern, issue, or project goals of your presentation. Please do not identify the presenter in the body of the abstract. The proposal must address the conference theme. No photos, text boxes, bullet points or tables (250-word limit).
  2. Name and contact information for lead presenter (full name, preferred address, phone number and e-mail) should be submitted in a separate field from the abstract.
  3. Biography for each panelist—150-word limit.
  4. Track of session – Choose one of the categories as per the above guidelines (Individual Paper,
    Panel, Dance for CameraWorkshop or Performance).
  5. Audio/visual requirements – State requirements for your presentation. The following AV devices will be available: projector and screen, computer, DVD player, CD player and speakers.

All accepted panelists must register and pay the conference registration fee by April 25th, 2018.

Above text and image adapted from webpage.