On Bodies in Motion: New Perspectives in Contemporary Choreography
On Bodies in Motion: New Perspectives in Contemporary Choreography

Summary/Abstract: The beginning of the 21st century brought about intense debates among artists, curators, and theoreticians on what choreography is or what it could become. A wide range of critical positions point towards the necessity of a reflective context in which the relation between the body and the movement should be discussed, questioned, revisited. By rethinking this relations new distinctive perspectives on choreography are encouraged and produced. Contemporary choreography is concerned with the body in motion in an ever-expanding field of disciplines, which brings about a multitude of shifting attitudes, and connects it with a wider range of discourses in the contemporary culture. As the traditional understanding of dance is questioned by innovative practices, the new choreographic modes and strategies challenge the very specificities of dance and affect, in return, the body on stage, its relation with motion and the choreographic discourse. The present article explores the transformations the occurred in the understanding of the body and its relation to movement (as choreography traditionally is recognized as the art of organizing the movement of the bodies and the bodies in movement in space and time) with echoes in making, performing and the reception of dance. My argument will take into account the contributions of some artists, researchers and theoreticians that, in the last 20 years or so, have been engaged in redefining choreographic practices and research, as I will reflect on these diverse contributions which innovated and revitalised the discourse around and about contemporary choreography.

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