Conference: Knowing in Motion. Dance, Body, Archive
Witness Royal Danish Library's dance archives come alive – and trace the embodied knowledge of dancers.
"In this project we ask, what we can learn from the corporeal knowledge of dance that rarely finds its way into the archival institution."
- Karen Vedel (PI)
The research project Knowing in Motion: Dance, Body, Archive (ViBe) has brought together scholars and dance practitioners to explore how embodied knowledge can be activated and made concrete. Through interactions between professional dancers and archival materials—including choreographic notes, historical photographs, and costumes—the project investigates the dynamic relationships between bodies and objects, movement and memory.
Our research draws on both public and private collections documenting 20th-century dance history, with a focus on three key choreographers/ensembles working in Denmark: Emilie Walbom, Doug Crutchfield, and the Micado Danse Ensemble.
As the project reaches its final phase, this conference will present preliminary research results and showcase the methods developed for working with dance archives, including Royal Danish Library’s collections. The conference programme includes a workshop in which participants will have the opportunity to experience these methods and engage with the archive firsthand.
Knowing in Motion: Dance, Body, Archive (2023-2026)
A three-year research project in which researchers from the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen (Karen Vedel and Franziska Bork Petersen) and Royal Danish Library (Anna Lawaetz) collaborate with dance artists to explore embodied knowing as part of the dance archive. The project is made possible with funding from the Augustinus Foundation’s support for cultural heritage research.
Programme
9-9.25 Opening notes by the research team
- Welcome by Anna Lawaetz (Senior Researcher, the Theatre Collection in Royal Danish Library)
- Introduction to the research project ”Knowing in Motion. Dance, Body, Archive” by Karen Vedel (PI, Associate Professor, Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Copenhagen)
- Introduction to the conference programme by Franziska Bork-Petersen (Associate Professor, Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Copenhagen)
9.25-10.30 Research outcomes from the project
- Presentations by the research team
10.30-11 Coffee/tea and snacks
11-12 Keynote, discussion and Q&A
- ”Archives of Care” Keynote lecture by Lucia Ruprecht (Professor in Dance Studies, Freie Universität, Berlin) on dance re-enactments and historiography.
12-13 Lunch (bring your own lunch bag or buy your lunch in the library café)
13-14.30 Workshops
- ”Activating the Archive” – The conference participants choose between:
- A. Choreographic notes
- B. Costumes
14.30-15:00 Coffee/tea
15-16:45 ”Choreographics Recycled” and panel
- Presentation of choreographic commissions
- Tim Matiakis has worked with choreographic notes relating to the ballet ”Enken i Spejlet” (Børge Ralov, 1934) + costumes
- Marie Kaae has worked with choreographic notes from the ballet ”Irene Holm” (Elsa Marianne von Rosen, DR 1962) + costumes
- Panel response and discussion by Gabriele Brandstetter (Professor emerita, Freie Universität, Berlin), Henrik Vestergaard (dramaturg, performer, scholar and co-founder of Live Art Denmark), Aline Braun (choreographer and PhD Fellow at Universität Mozarteum, Salzburg).
16:45-17:00 Closing remarks by Anna Lawaetz, Franziska Bork-Petersen and Karen Vedel
The conference and the project Knowing in Motion take place in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen and with support from the Augustinus Foundation.