GEMMA COLLARD-STOKES

PUBLICATIONS

EXPRESSING SUCHNESS: ON THE INTEGRATION OF WRITING INTO A DANCE PRACTICE

Collard-Stokes, G. (2019). 'Expressing suchness: on the integration of writing into a dance practice'. Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices, 11(1), pp. 115-128. DOI
10.1386/jdsp.11.1.115_1.

This article details the unique pairing of dance and writing, the likes of which are often considered two very different beasts. It examines how approaches to movement improvisation have been used to form and inform innovative methods of entering into the act of writing from the experience of dance. The argument authenticates the current renewed appreciation for the possibilities of writing to enable further creative critical engagement. Consequently, the meeting of creativity and criticality is one in which the dancer playfully explores and examines the suchness of one’s dancing. Suchness is therefore understood as the unique sum of qualities experienced by the dancer – the point at which clarity and closeness facilitate connection through the images, feelings and sensations evoked by dance. In summary, the article outlines the relationship between dance and writing, before exploring the methods used to facilitate a dancer’s assimilation and validation of what happens for them when they dance.

FINDING COMMON GROUND THROUGH LANGUAGE AND MOVEMENT: EXAMINING THE ROLE OF THE WRITER IN ROSEMARY LEE’S THE SUCHNESS OF HENI AND EDDIE.

Collard-Stokes, G. (2012) 'Finding common ground through language and movement: examining the role of the writer in Rosemary Lee’s The Suchness of Heni and Eddie', Research in Dance Education, 13 (2):215. 
DOI
10.1080/14647893.2012.687370

Since the development of interdisciplinary practice, dance has fashioned and cultivated many relationships with other art forms. In this search to uncover new territory choreographers often merge art forms to facilitate the broadening of their field. Writing has always been a successful tool in the communication and critique of dance performance. However, writing has also played a considerable role in the process of creating dance, yet this association remains under-represented. This writing aims to demonstrate some of the ongoing and recent perspectives that dance and writing have nurtured, paying particular attention to the act of creative writing and dance in a collaborative partnership. This investigation concerns itself with the act of writing as creative discourse, presenting the argument for the writer to be considered an invaluable partner in the creative process. Through practical research, a case study was carried out examining the ongoing collaboration between choreographer Rosemary Lee and writer Niki Pollard. The findings from this research provide evidence of how modes of writing can contribute to choreographic investigation, providing a performative research bridge between practical and theoretical negotiations.

ARTIST-LED, ARTIST-USED: EXPERIENCES AT COVENTRY'S SUMMER DANCING 2009

Pollard, N., Coe, K., Collard-Stokes, G., Le Quesne, L., and Moran, J. (2009) 'Artist-led, artist-used: experiences at Coventry's Summer Dancing 2009', Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, 1 (2):199. 
DOI
10.1386/jdsp.1.2.199_1

This multi-authored article arises from an artist-led festival of dance and probes what is entailed by the commitment to an artist-led structure. The festival, Summer Dancing 2009 in Coventry, is becoming significant in the United Kingdom as a gathering, both regionally and nationally, of practitioners whose expertise is grounded in what might be termed somatic dance practices. It is proposed that artist-led may indicate an aim to be led by artists for other artists; that is, for an event or organization to be artist-used and useful. With the question of artists' use at the fore, the article reports on a festival panel debate and on a project of practitioner-focused writing, examining how a dance practitioner may be stimulated, challenged or find connections to an existing practice.

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