Bodies and Performance: Interim Event Report 2019

Full Name: Claire Hampton

Venue and Date: 24th November 2018, Brunel University London

What were the main points that emerged from your interim event this year?

This one-day workshop/seminar event  examined politics of disagreement, debate, and respect in the context of theater, dance, sport, and other forms of performance. Speakers considered how performance, and artistic production more generally, has  been considered a site for dissent. Questions posed included;  does performance create particular opportunities for dissent and disagreement through its structures, codes, and conventions? How might such structures act on or be enacted by moving bodies? How do performative practices, including sport, represent disagreement, enact debate, or allow us to rehearse alternative modes of being than the ones offered by mainstream politics? Does attending to a politics of dissent require innovative or alternative research methods?

The event included a keynote by Alex Channon of University Brighton, a senior lecturer in Physical Education and Sport Psychology. He presented his work on the ‘Love Fighting Hate Violence’ project. An endeavour that seeks to separate the ethics and politics of fighting from violence in martial arts. His discussion included a consideration of the consent and how this is made clear through ritual and symbolic communication in martial arts practice. The interdisciplinary approach to behaviour, theoretical inquiry and pedagogic intervention set the tone for the rest of the event.

Presenters approached the topic from a wide range of different stand points including Dance, Theatre, Boxing, Applied Drama, Collaborative performance practices and Boxing.

The event also included a practical martial arts workshop led by Janet O’Shea which offered a physical exploration of dissent and civility that reflected the non-traditional methods of scholarly engagement that were central to this interim event.  

Types of contributions (papers, performances, workshops, etc.)
Papers, performative presentations, workshop

Number of Delegates: 1 Keynote, 7 presenters, 1 workshop leader and co-organiser, 5 non presenting delegates, 3 working group conveners

How many were new to TaPRA? 0

Did you have any non-UK participants? Yes

Any additional points or feedback not covered above?

Rather than charging for lunch we asked all those attending to bring an offering for a shared lunch. This worked extremely well and created a social and collegiate atmosphere that spilled out of break time and charged the whole event with a productive yet relaxed atmosphere. We would definitely recommend this as a means of organising lunch breaks at smaller events.

We came in under budget due to only 1 post grad bursary application out of a possible 4. We also only had 1 invited speaker traveling from outside the London area.

Overall budget awarded: 599.60 (original application)

Amount spent: 229.75 (actual spend)

Breakdown of costs:

Bodies and Performance WG Interim Event
£
Keynote – Travel & Accommodation Expenses – TAPRA Event 146.10
Post Grad Bursary – Travel – Seminar Attendance 52.05
Invited Presenter – Travel Expenses – Speaker Agonistic Politics 31.60
 Total 229.75

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