Choreopower. Choreography and the Politics of Movement (2016 – 2021)

The project investigates the multiple relationships of power and movement. The governing of movement has become one of the most powerful operations spanning across a variety of social, economical or ecological fields. Movements of migration, traffic in metropolises, the mobility and flexibility of workers, and the logistics of goods and information are considered as producing high values and at the same time a constant source of threat. How do the “techniques of power” (Foucault) operate in and by movement and how do they create their own regime of mobility?
Choreography and dance has developed a vast set of techniques to create and direct movement. Ranging from the disciplinary techniques of classical ballet to the experimental and individualistic practices of contemporary dance, choreography offers an extensive knowledge on the modulation of movement. By linking these choreographic techniques with the field of political research, this projects deepens the analysis of techniques of power active in the above-mentioned fields. By proposing the concept of “choreopower” the project elaborates on the idea of movement’s very own political force. The research deploys an interdisciplinary range of methods from the fields of dance studies, ethnography, political theory and philosophy.

Funded by the German Research Foundation

Publications:

„Macht bewegt sich, Macht bewegt“ [Power moves] in: Choreographie als Kulturtechnik [Choreography as Cultural Technique], ed. by Sabine Huschka and Gerald Siegmund, Berlin: Neofelis 2022, pages 115-138.
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„Operational Choreography. Dance and Logistical Capitalism“, in: Performance Philosophy, 7(1), Power and Powerlessness in Performance, ed. by  Georg Döcker, Eve Katsouraki, and Gerald Siegmund, 2022, pages 97-113
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„Migration, Kontrolle und Choreomacht“ [Migration, Control and Choreopower] in: ARCH+ Europa: Infrastrukturen der Externalisierung [Europe: Infrastructures of Externalization], No. 239, 2020, pages 210-219.
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Events:

Operation|Performance (Workshop, 2021)

Ecology of Techniques (Workshops, 2019 and 2020)