Performing Ecologies: Exploring Choreographic Lamenting with Nature, spring- fall 2024

Spring- fall 2024

This practice research unfolds a choreographic lamenting practice, that depart from the Karelian ritual wailing techniques, with a particular focus on attunement towards plant-life in the biotope of the nature forest Ekeby west of Stockholm, as means to explore its eco-critical potential in the performance situation, on site and in the black box, in the context of our current planetarian circumstances that could be characterized as a catastrophe.

To conceptualize the choreographic lamenting practice in more-than-human milieus the theoretical framework departs from new materialism. It is concerned with a processual understanding of the ecology and the vitality of matter. The performative theory of new materialism opens up for possible less human- centered and non-dualistic approaches in a shared more-than-human practice. Intertwined with performing arts discourse enables me to reapproach choreography as a shared activity, entangled with a variety of bodies, and to discuss the possibilities and limitations of such reconfiguration. Furthermore, the research draws from ecological science, botany, indigenous wisdom, and Karelian lamenting traditions to deepen the knowledge of plant life and the more-than-human world, in order to device and refine choreographic processes and methods that are responsive to the agencies of plants within the ecological system.

The eco-critical perspective affirms the choreographic lamenting practice as part of a more-than-human world, where the eco-critical potential in the performance situation are two folded: It critically examine human-centric conventions and habits in relation to the environment and how they are embedded in the artistic practice. Secondly it offers forms of sensuous experiences and processes that makes one aware of the interconnectedness and co-existence of human and more-than-human in dynamic unforeseen states.

The research proposes live embodied acts that stimulate ecological awareness for humans, that they are only parts of an entangled ecology, and they live as participants of, rather than the dominant figures within, the ecological system of Earth.

The initiation of the research took place in 2019 in conjunction with the comission of a lament performance byTuulia Talventytär,  for the occasion of the opening of hypoderm, the inauguration show of Pesula Galleria in Sibbo, Finland curated by myself.  

Fellow- researchers: Dancer and Choreographer Rebecca Chentinell, Dancer and Choreographer Mikko Hyvönen, Birch, Pine, Spurce, Juniper, Moss, Lichen, Air, Earth, Fire and Water in the nature forest of Ekeby Supervisor: Dr Mariella Greil- Möbius External mentors: Choreographer Rósa Ómarsdóttir, Dr Sandra Reeve Dialouge partners: Professor Emeritus Knut Ove Arntzen, Professor Emerita Venke Aure, Leontine Broekhuizen & Rijk Willemse, Sculptor Niels Van Bunningen, Biologist and Professor Annie Desrochers, Landscape Ecologist Douwe H Joustra, Voice and Performance Artist Ralf Peters, Biologist Karl-Joel Sundholm, Itkijä and Lamenter Tuulia Talventytär, Artistic Director Ingrid Vranken, Artist and Associate Professor Zheng Bo Public invitations: 11th of May Gula Villan Järna SE, 16th of May Artez Arnhem NL, 12th of October Regional Dance Center Vasa FI.

Limited seats, mail rickard@dace.nu to reserve.