“Movements” is an innovative dance performance developed by students of Philipps University of Marburg, Germany, under the guidance of Dr. Lea Spahn. Rooted in embodied research and the theme of “Democracy and Polarization”, the piece transforms pressing societal questions into aesthetic and physical expression.
The exchange below reflects a conversation between Pilvikki Lantela, AECED project manager, and Dr Lea Spahn, teacher for special tasks for body education/dance and module leader in the continuing education master’s program “Cultural Education in Schools” at the Philipps University of Marburg and AECED team member.
Pilvikki: Can you share something about the context of making the video? Was it part of a course/ broader set of studies? Who were the students?
Lea: The video is a way of sharing a performance developed by students in dance education over one semester. The foundational aesthetic and dance education program at the Philipps University of Marburg in teacher education invites students to experience the development of a performance piece from an idea to a stage performance. The piece was adapted from a theatre stage to the church ruin in Treysa, visible in the video, to allow an experience of working in public space and invite a broader audience.
Pilvikki: How did the choreography evolve?
Lea: Germany is facing a strong shift to right-populist parties in current elections and the question posed was how students experience and relate to the idea of democracy as lived practice. The choreography is the outcome of 12 weeks of intense collaboration between 20 students and myself on the topic of “Democracy and Polarisation”.
Movement laboratories allowed the students to explore their embodied responses to simple movement principles such as gravity or balance. The students also had time to go through the process from movement improvisation to small compositions that we then observed. Our aim was for a subjective experience of the creative capacity of every body in relation to space, others and ideas / topics while observing and encouraging the movements of others. Following this, performative movement scenes reflecting the topic of “democracy and polarization” were developed from students’ own experiences in this regard. Experiences were ‘translated’ into movements and collective scenes in which principles of togetherness and exclusion, engagement and individualization, support and reflection became visible. The students and I brought all the movement material together in a performance in July 2024.
Pilvikki: How does the embodied aspect relate to enhancing democracy in Europe?
Lea: Elections are often thought of as a space of democratic citizenship. We aimed to go beyond this and bring the idea of democracy-as-becoming into perspective. The students were invited to reflect, and reflect on, their everyday-interactions, inner convictions toward others and ways to experience democracy as collective practice. Aesthetic and embodied approaches in education provide a ‘space of possibilities’ where participants are not asked solely to speak their thoughts but also to feel their response to a situation and express that. With a focus on embodied responses, we enable our participants to relate to democracy not as political system but a shared practice that ‘moves’ us in some way.
Pilvikki: What did you learn as a researcher through this experience?
Lea: To trust in embodied approaches in educational settings. When working with and through the body with participants, there are always moments of resistance, shyness or even shame in becoming visible as person. It is important to address these and to speak about the vulnerability of every body. At the same time, when participants use this space for exploration and collective expression – perhaps even as a form of aesthetic research – they realise that there is no “right” or “wrong” but a process of finding one’s own way of contributing.
As a researcher, I realised that embodied and aesthetic approaches need generous time/spaces in which to adapt to the changing needs of participants. Working in a responsive environment, involving myself and learning with my participants, was helpful to ‘hold the space’. Such approaches need careful facilitation and encouragement of participants to trust both their own creative responses and the process itself. And that democracy is all about finding ways of doing things together.
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“Movements” was danced by: Jil Böhner, Sophie Brinsa, Insa Brodersen, Paula Damm, Florian Gensler, Lisa Gerlach, Carolin Grote, Ronja Hochstätter, Kendra Holub, Daniel Jacobs, Sophie Kapperer, Marleen Kämpfer, Leandra Kiesel, Katja Kühnreich, Tami Leipert, Eileen Niemann, Lina Nimtz, Leonie Scheuvens, Sebastian Trapp, Charly Waletzki – students of Philipps University of Marburg, Germany