The body as a critical site of knowledge, memory, and agency to disrupt dominant narratives.
full programme soon
Towards Documentary Choreography - Encounter #2 : Attending to bodies is the second in a series of symposiums linked to the doctoral research of choreographer Arkadi Zaides.
This edition places the act of attending to bodies at its core, emphasizing the body as a critical site of knowledge, memory, and agency. The symposium delves into the intersection of documentary materials with corporealities, revealing how bodies can disrupt dominant narratives, amplify silenced stories, and confront pressing crises such as displacement, inequality, and ecological breakdown. How can choreography, by centering on bodies, navigate these crises and uncover new ways of engaging with the world?
about
Arkadi Zaides works as a choreographer, curator, and researcher. He obtained a master’s degree at the AHK Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam. Since 2021, he is a doctoral researcher in the Arts at the University of Antwerp, Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, Ghent University, and KASK/School of Arts (HoGent). He is a member of the CORPoREAL research group at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp and the research center S:PAM (Studies in Performing Arts & Media) at Ghent University. His performances and video installations have been presented at numerous dance and theater festivals, museums, and galleries across Europe, North and South America, and Asia. Zaides is a recipient of various awards, among them a prize for demonstrating engagement in human rights issues, awarded to him by the Emile Zola Chair for Interdisciplinary Human Rights Dialogue.
This event is organized in cooperation between: the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts (ARIA); Counterpoint (KU Leuven); the Flemish Government; the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy of Ghent University; the Faculty of Arts (Department of Literature) of the University of Antwerp; CoDa | Cultures of Dance – Research Network for Dance Studies (funded by the Research Foundation Flanders - FWO), Inter-University Centre for Dance Berlin (HZT), S:PAM (Studies in Performing Arts & Media) at Ghent University; CORPoREAL (research group at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp); the Necropolis United research project (funded by the Research Foundation Flanders - FWO), Beursschouwburg.
image: Kamal Aljafari, A Fidai Film (2024), film still
