Embracing the Future of the Body: A Tribute to Performing Arts
In 2019, I embarked on a creative journey with “Future Proof Your Body,” a multidisciplinary performance that celebrated the essence of the human form, soma and embodiment physicality. Set in both real life and virtual reality realms, it was a homage to the beauty and vitality of the dancing body. Through this experience, I sought to invite audiences and artists alike to immerse themselves in the dimensions of the body, while embracing the confidence that comes with exploring new visual and auditory landscapes in the headset. The objective was an invitation to the audiences to embrace the poetry of the body and explore it. Covid, the wars and our relationship with our planet accentuated this need even more…..Fast forward to April 2024 , at the Elixir Festival at Sadler’s Wells, I encountered a profoundly moving experience that reaffirmed the power of the body in performance art. Witnessing a dancer transcend age with every graceful movement was nothing short of poetic. As they leaped, pirouetted, and embraced their partner with effortless elegance, time seemed to stand still. The synergy of lighting, sound, and movement created a timeless spectacle that defied the constraints of ageism.
In that moment, I was reminded of the importance of pushing the boundaries of art and performance. Sadler’s Wells continues to be at the forefront of innovation, consistently challenging conventional notions and inviting us to explore the depths of our humanity through the arts.
As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of performance art, let us remember the profound impact it has on shaping our understanding of the human experience. Let us continue to celebrate the body in all its forms, recognizing its capacity to transcend boundaries and inspire infinite possibilities.
Thank you, Sadler’s Wells, for your unwavering dedication to the arts and for reminding us of the timeless beauty of the human body in motion.
Let us continue to honor our arts, our performances, and ultimately, our shared humanity. Elixir.
The new opportunities for creative expression offered by Hybrid Performance are exciting and myriad! How can we give artists access to the many platforms becoming available through emerging technologies as innovative ways of story sharing, interactivity and creativity?
IJAD is well-positioned as an innovation conduit between organisations, tech companies and artists, through its Connective Matrix forum and its artist residencies and creative outputs. The aim is to open up discussions and opportunities, and evolve this new sector to benefit all of us.
In 2022, through Open Online Theatre and OOTFest22, we redefined Hybrid Performance as the seamless integration of narrative and technology, where each element is indispensable to the other. This approach ensures that both in-person and online audiences experience the richness of liveness, regardless of physical location, and gives artists access to a diverse array of tools and platforms as part of the creative process.
After OOTFest22, our successful hybrid festival – which we believe was the first of its kind in the UK – we felt the need to connect and interact with more artists, venues, and researchers, to position ourselves in context, and see what needed to be done to share the rapid learning that resulted from our work.
We fulfilled a dedicated six weeks’ briefing with OOTFest22 artists, partners and venues, which clarified that the infrastructure for collaboration between new technologies and art is in its infancy, even though these new formats originated in the 1950s with Fluxus and Gutei, two international 1960s avant-garde movements that attempted to establish new artistic vocabularies. How have we progressed since the 1950s. And why the delay?
IJAD then embarked on a far-reaching UK exploration including discussions with academics, tech companies, artists and venues, and combining this with a healthy curiosity, we came up with an action plan: an Innovation Lab Day, Jan 2024, as part of an NCACE Ideas Pool 3, supported by City University AI Research Department.
This dynamic initiative was conceived as a proactive strategic forum and meeting of minds. The event brought together a diverse array of stakeholders invested in the dance/theatre hybrid sector. The concept was simple yet profound: to foster creative experimentation and collaboration at the intersection of performing arts and technology.
Participants immersed themselves in four presentations led by Lucy Bayliss (Dance East) Rachel Drury (Collusion) and Neil Maiden (City A.I.) and included many discussions and exchanges, delving deep into the current state of the sector both locally and nationally.
The aim was clear: to identify challenges, unearth opportunities, and chart a course towards a thriving cultural ecosystem. From shaping the future of hybrid performances to navigating new audience structures, from fostering community building to addressing the needs of artists and venues, the conversations were rich with insights and possibilities.
One of the key objectives of the Innovation Lab was to discuss whether sharing production costs can contribute to sector development? How can we share the load to make things happen?
Our evaluation of the event revealed the following insights:
Over 30% expressed a strong desire for a repeat of the event, underscoring the genuine interest in the innovation-driven initiatives spearheaded by IJAD.
Approximately 32% expressed keen interest in the development of connective networks, (such as IJAD’s connective matrix initiative) highlighting a tangible demand for sustained connections and collaborative opportunities within the community, as well as opportunities to create opportunities to share their productions
The rest of the percentage questioned the funding system available at the moment, and if it needs to be redesigned,
Inquired around the methods of knowledge exchange between makers, researchers, tech companies and the venues.
As we reflect on the outcomes of the Innovation Lab Day and OOTFest22, (with sold out performances at Rich Mix and ticket-buying virtual audiences from 58 cities) and we contemplate the next steps in our innovation journey, one thing is clear: the potential is immense, and the offer to audiences is abundant with imagination, immersion, interactions and many as-yet-unimagined possibilities.
These conversations are at an early stage. We invite you to join us in shaping the future of Hybrid Performance, whether through participating in Connective Matrix round table discussions, sharing your experiences, sending us info about your work, contributing to the development of connective networks, or suggesting a theme for our next discussion.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Our next Connective Matrix event is a lunchtime online round table discussion:
Save-the-date! March 25th 13:00 – 14:00 on the Open Online Theatre platform.
There will be provocations and opportunity-sharing from guest speakers, names to be announced.
We will
· inquire how the intersections of technology and performing arts can more successfully centralise the human element, fostering deeper connections, nurturing creativity and inclusivity.
· discuss ways to facilitate knowledge-sharing and creative opportunities in the hybrid landscape.
· grow our collective understanding of what needs to be done to foster innovations that can evolve the sector as a whole.
Arts Council England has supported many XR works, as well as its new ‘Immersive Arts’ scheme: a £6m, three year, UK-wide scheme that will offer an inclusive and accessible programme of research, training, funding opportunities and events for over 200 artists.
In the spirit of collaboration and innovation, let’s come together to explore the possibilities at the intersection of art and technology. Your input and perspective are invaluable as we navigate the next phase of our journey. So, let’s connect over coffee and delve deeper into the insights gleaned from the Innovation Lab Day, and together chart a course towards a future where creativity knows no bounds!
Recently, I was invited to attend the first ever TEDinArabic in Doha, Qatar, and deliver a talk and workshop on creative technology, hybrid performance and sensography. It was a fascinating experience and I was able to meet so many interesting people from all kinds of backgrounds.
As a participant and an audience member, I realised that providing a space for individuals to express their stories is crucial for a healthy democracy and for promoting artistic expression.
We witnessed female scientists, a Palestinian graffiti artist who believes in peace, physicist poets, a dance company working in hybrid, architects with a strong cause to save and support important buildings. I am still thinking about the world that I witnessed and took part in.
I will talk about two out of many sessions that left a trace on me.
First, a session led by a physicist and poet Mahdi Mansour who asked: why can’t we put equal emphasis on physics and poetry in our educational system? Why choose expression over facts? Don’t we need to understand how to express a logical thought?
Both involve the exploration of the world around us, and both require creativity and imagination.
In poetry, language is used to convey emotions, experiences, and ideas in a way that is often abstract and metaphorical. This can be a powerful tool for exploring complex ideas and expressing things that may be difficult to put into words.
In physics, scientists use mathematical models and experiments to understand the physical world and how it works. This involves a lot of creativity and imagination, as scientists must come up with new ideas and theories to explain phenomena that may not be immediately obvious.
When poetry and physics are combined, they can offer a unique and fascinating perspective on the world around us. Poets can use scientific concepts to explore deeper themes and ideas, while physicists can use poetry to communicate their discoveries in a more accessible and engaging way.
When people are able to share their stories, they are able to connect with others and build a sense of community. This can lead to greater understanding, empathy, and respect for different perspectives and experiences.
Artistic expression can also play a key role in this process. Art has the power to convey emotions and experiences in a way that can be more powerful than words alone. It can bring people together and create a shared experience that transcends language, culture, and other barriers.
In addition to promoting individual expression, offering a platform for personal stories and artistic expression can also help to highlight important social and political issues. When people are able to share their stories and experiences, it can bring attention to issues that may have been overlooked or ignored in the past.
The second session that left a mark on me was about architects who become cause holders, Mona Al Hallak.
When an architect becomes a cause driver for a historical building that symbolises war, they are taking on an important role as a steward of history and cultural heritage. Historical buildings are more than just physical structures: they are living symbols of the people, events, and values that shaped our world.
Archives found
By preserving and restoring historical buildings, architects can help to keep the memories of the past alive and ensure that future generations have the opportunity to learn from and appreciate the achievements and sacrifices of those who came before them.
When an architect approaches the restoration of a historical building as if it were a living being, they are acknowledging the history and significance of the building and treating it with the care and respect it deserves. This can involve extensive research into the building’s history, careful analysis of its structural integrity, and the use of materials and techniques that are appropriate for its age and style.
The design of the building, is it put to a good use?
By treating these buildings as living beings, they can help to ensure that they remain a vital and meaningful part of our shared history for generations to come.
Both of these sessions will leave me thinking about the stories raised for a long time to come.
Co-creation brings artists and audiences into a dynamic shared space where both explore new creative ideas, concepts and perspectives. These new discoveries can be ‘Ah ha’ moments, developmental moments and/or togetherness moments.
In live streamed co-creation sessions, artists offer their creative ideas to audiences to play with, respond to and throw back as something new: as collaboration. This is a fun and progressive way of developing concepts, methodologies and new work. It replaces old ideas of artist as sole creator with the freshness of everyoneas artist. As well as broadening artists’ areas of engagement, working in the hybrid model is dissolving boundaries between artist and audience.
Co-creation in the performing arts has plenty of pre-digital precedents. Research techniques, verbatim dialogue, street performances where audiences interact with photography, and even heckling are ways audiences have had creative input in performances. Today, live streaming and interactive technology offer a new world of ways to engage, interact and include.
The more familiar we all get with this creative flow, the more audiences become creative in their engagement, the more smoothly and easily these exchanges evolve. It’s an open door to infinite possibilities, with a plethora of new potentials to re-design interactivity.
In recent years, IJAD has used social media as creative media via audience use of text messaging, created interactive performances using sensors, and created Open Online Theatre (OOT), a digital playground and interactive streaming platform. These are all part of IJAD’s efforts towards democratising culture and bringing audiences into the creative process of arts collaboration.
Live streamed co-creation is a new skill-set for artists that requires flexibility, presence of mind, experience of the media through which creativity is being navigated, and sensitivity.
The OOT artist development programme offers artists the chance to interact with virtual audiences to inform the development of new work, creating a conceptual shared space and changing the status of the audience from passive observer to creative.
OOT artists enter the co-creation space with their experience and professional knowledge of their performance medium (theatre, dance, combined arts) alongside the subject matter and themes of their work in development. They guide participants through the collaborative methods and tools they’re using, balancing elements of creativity, inspiration and receptivity.
Participants can see how their own creativity is informed by the process, and how the artists metamorphose their ideas into a performance.
OOT is planning many more co-creation sessions from our current cohort of performing artists, to ensure we continue evolving this method of work.
The team at IJAD Dance spent the last few months developing and delivering a live-streamed festival as part of their Open Online Theatre programme.
OOT is a virtual venue developing and showcasing new work at the intersections of performing arts and technology; training artists to rethink their practice to make work specifically for live-streaming, via the art of sensography, which is the practice of choreographing work for live-streaming via multiple cameras to multiple devices. Artists receive training from professionals in film, editing, business, social media and sensography.
The programme culminates in the OOT Festival, where the participating artists can showcase their work live to audiences around the world.
Work from our most recent festival reached people in 16 countries and 59 cities!
Planning an online festival is a huge undertaking; it comes with a lot of challenges and requires dedication, cooperation and lots of love.
Here’s what we learned developing the OOT Festival during the pandemic.
Build a space for process, questions, trust and support
Open Online Theatre began with the ambition to offer a programme that would support artists to bring them digitally alive in their work practice, aiming to create two concurrent existences: one for the digital realm; the other for their physical space.
The programme should provide:
Knowledge
Experience
Toolkits
Time
Community
Experts & Mentors
These tools and our respect for two golden rules – privacy and support – gave the artists a good grounding in what the programme was about. They soon started interacting, getting support from each other and the workshop leaders. We witnessed an outpouring of generosity and a boom in collaboration.
While the interpersonal nature of the programme was important in creating the right space, the other vital strand was technology: The Open Online Theatre programme includes the opportunity to deliver workshops and co-creation sessions as well as performances in our OOT Festival showcase.
These sessions are all delivered via our bespoke Open Online Theatre platform.
We could have chosen to use existing streaming and events technology, but we felt it was important that OOT had its own home and its own identity.
Be fluid and adaptable, nothing is personal, it’s ok to be unsure
Our objective for OOT was to create a space where all the artists could be together, and share their experience of all elements of the programme.
From day one this was challenging and challenged by the artists: For example, two of the participants were unable to meet for workshops in a space in London as we originally planned. We adapted to become online and geoplaced, making sure everyone received and understood the information and course exploration without being physically present. We were always available to answer questions and hear concerns.
We achieved this by making all the exercises and practical explorations fluid between the physical participants and the virtual ones; we had the project manager and the whole team involved by walking the space with their laptops, tablets and mobile phones. Quickly everyone in the room – and those that were many miles away – adapted to this with openness, flexibility and agility.
Know your team and your collaborators
We had a team of 49 professionals working on the Open Online Theatre (OOT) Festival. They all brought something different to the project. We knew them all well and enjoyed working with them – we held each other in a safe space to work and communicate.
We even engaged a COVID-19 health and safety production manager to navigate the complex health and safety rules, which was a great investment, as we had someone on board who could act diligently and professionally and share accurate information with the team, enabling us to make an informed decision about the feasibility of going ahead with the festival.
That was also the time that I had to harness my enthusiastic and optimistic boundary-pushing nature, as putting on the festival involved a moral responsibility from a health and safety COVID-19 point of view!
Focus on yourNorth Star
Keep an eye on the objective, on the thing you have planned for, while keeping a finger on the pulse of what is happening around you.
Throughout the autumn, OOT artists were offering workshops and co-creation sessions, IJAD was hosting roundtable discussions and there were artists’ Zoom meetings, all of which kept the mood positive.
The glimpse of the New Year ahead came with optimism. Our plans for the festival in February were taking shape. We’d decided to host panel discussions, and everything was looking good as momentum built.
When Boris Johnson announced stricter lockdown measures at the beginning of January, we questioned whether we could go ahead. We had already postponed the festival once from its original date in November, but we had a theatre and we had a very strong call of duty. We had momentum, we had engagement, we had support and – best of all – we had mutuality,
We spent a lot of time waiting for government websites to publish updates, talking to colleagues in our industry and some dance bodies.
Everything and many were telling us to wait. Organising the festival was very heavy going as we needed to have a lot of things in place. But we decided internally that we would keep on preparing and only if the worst happened would we cancel.
Covid taught us: Be kind, be sensitive, be grounded and be flexible.
After many more meetings and clearer government guidance, we decided we could go ahead with the festival. However, it was not entirely our choice and we did speak to our artists to make sure they were happy.
But more problems soon arose.
One of the artists contracted Covid.
Two of the technical team were unable to return to the UK due to stricter laws around travel and quarantine.
One of the artists is over 70, so was unable to travel or be in the theatre.
With our North Star always in mind, we spent a week re-imagining how the festival would work, developing a whole new ecology where we could support all five artists from the theatre, whether or not they chose to be physically present.
The OOT ecosystem our hybrid tech sensography team – supported several different performances: One with two performers where one was in New York and one in London; another was collaborating with Amazon Alexa; another filmed from a kitchen in Milton Keynes, with different cameras editing live from the theatre; and one recorded and presented with live material from Lebanon.
It goes without saying our team was dedicated, focused, and more than anything committed to the arts. There was so much wisdom, kindness and 100% support involved in this project.
This was a collaborative team effort – we built a family, a family that will always be able to work together.
Part-time General Manager: 12hours to two days a week. £17,290 -£21800 a year or from £9.5 to £12/hour it has the potential in developing to a full time role.
Job Description
We have an exciting opportunity for a creative, motivated and well-organised individual to take on the job of IJAD DANCE COMPANY General Manager. We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic, reliable, an excellent communicator and has a good understanding of arts management and fundraising.
About IJAD
IJAD believes that when one is being creative it is impossible to being a state of conflict- and so we use contemporary dance to reach as many people as possible.
To further this aim we use social media within performances to open access but also to question what the art experience is.
We are currently applying for research grants to fund exploration of this as well as our work. Recent performances include the AHRC Creative Economy Showcase, The Science Museum and The Victoria and Albert Museum.
The General Manager will work closely with the Artistic Director, Event Producer(s), Volunteer Coordinator Key Responsibilities include:
Working with IJAD’s team to develop partnerships and income-generating opportunities
Help create and action a long-term plan to sustainably grow the organisation
Fundraising: researching, applying for and administrating grants and other income-generating possibilities
Overseeing year-round running of the organisation
Carrying on building the companies profile within the dance venues/galleries/museums/festivals/virtual platforms for performing and commissioning opportunities.
Carrying on engaging with schools/universities/venues/galleries for engaging in workshops and receiving the toolkit.
Understands Social media and converse on it
The applicant should be experienced in arts management and/or managing a creative business and have a proven track record of fundraising and revenue development.
This position is part-time, 2 days per week.
This is initially a 3-month paid position to be reviewed with the possibility of becoming a permanent position.
Essential
The post requires an experienced Project Manager – a highly motivated and independent individual who has excellent written and verbal communication skills, and organisational and interpersonal skills. Applicants should demonstrate the ability to multi-task across a portfolio of projects and to work with close attention to detail in a moderate moving environment.
have experience writing successful fundraising applications and have solid understanding of the marketing process
This is a great opportunity for someone who is career focused who is interested in taking responsibility as there is growth within the role to diversify into other areas of management
You will be passionate about the arts and bringing then to a wide range of people
Excellent written and spoken English
Conversant with google docs and Microsoft office
Interested in social media and digital technology in the arts
Desirable
Experience of managing volunteers
Knowledge of the tour booking process
Experience in other areas of fundraising
Previous experience working within the dance world
Previous experience working within the digital world
IJAD has no political or religious affiliations and actively seeks opportunities to work with a wide range of cultures in the UK and abroad, achieving inter-cultural harmony through the highest quality contemporary dance events.
Applications due: May 29, 2014
Interviews will be held on June 2nd
If you need more info e-mail your questions to: hello@ijaddancecompany.com to receive a job description. Please note: You need to send a covering letter explaining why you want to work with IJAD and a C.V. The position is for self employed and legally allowed to work within the U.K.
This post interview is in two stages: First you meet the team than we ask you to submit a work plan based on the first meeting
Like a bad friend, do you ever feel like everyone is talking on social media, but no one ever listens?
IJAD are.
What you send us over the next month we’ll create a performance around at – drumroll please – The Science Museum. That’s way better than a facebook post saying ‘tell me where you first me me to prove that you read this’.
Yes that’s right – The Science Museum. We’re taking part in their adults only (no, I said adult not ‘adult’) lates series and the theme is Space.
Not only that, it’s also part of the two month long Nour Festival of Arts which reflects the very best in contemporary Middle Eastern and North African arts and culture; a crucial meeting point for East and West.
We want anything you’ve got that relates to Space (and not just outer space) the Middle East or the arts. We’ll be massaging your creative juices over the next month with suggestions on facebook and Twitter so if nothing comes to mind take a look there. #InfiniteReach is the hashtag and we’ll be looking at different Space topics each week.
Whatever you do – fling it at us. We won’t just be holding it up – we’ll be designing the performance around it. We’ll be using your thoughts and artwork and creating a show inspired by and incorporating it because we want our art to reflect life as much as possible – and so we really think it should come from you.
We’ll be creating an installation between 7pm and 9.45pm on 30th October. It’s free to come along and the space will come alive with a multi-media performance at 7.30pm, 8.15pm and 9pm.
Send us the inside of your brain – we will of course credit you on social media and on our website for everything we use.
@IJADdance
IJAD Dance Company – facebook
hello@ijaddancecompany.com
Yesterday Artistic Director, Joumana, went to the TEDx event at the Albert Hall.
‘Inspirational doesn’t come close. Most of the day was based on people who had visions springing from Prince Albert who helped to establish the cultural centre in Kensington & Chelsea or, as we learnt, Albertropolis. The collection of cultural sites and educational institutions would work to support all human progress in culture and science. This TEDx location was an ideal setting for an event that explored art and science and how they fit together in the modern world.
The speakers were a variety but they came together in their belief in their own internal powers and their cutting edge practice in their respective field.
The speaker who blew me away was Jessica Thom. Her creation, Touretteshero is incredible. Nicholas McCarthy’s talk was also a great example of people defeating physical nature in order to be more than functional, to be incredible.
A few of the speakers were inviting people to be creative, to indulge in their hobbies and for me this has never been more relevant. You only have to look at the #TEDx feeds on Twitter to see the conversations that inspirational stories can spark. The use of Twitter at the event made the experience even richer. This is the kind of engagement that we want to encourage through the In-finite Space project at the Science Museum. We are inviting people to be creative through Twitter (we are @IJADdance by the way) in order to provide our artists with a new foundation for their response. Overcoming physical limitations was a theme of TEDx that got me thinking about the existence of a more universal limitation for humans. Does digital interaction lead to richer social and cultural experiences? Can we learn, from these inspirational examples, how to bridge the gaps between the physical and the digital space we inhabit?’
Follow us on Twitter to find out about why the In-Finite Space performance won’t work without you!
We want to demonstrate this to the 15,000 attendees – as part
of our talk we’ll be asking them to tweet #todayimdancing with a piece of inspiration(idea, thought, poem) – we want you to help us flood twitter, by picking one, filming a 6 second or less vine of you dancing in response to one of these and tweeting it back on #ds13.
N.B if you do not have a vine on your make download it from the app mac to obtain a vine app for free go to: http://www.vineapp.com
Last year, #DS12 trended twitter on the first day of the conference so this is going to be big. Even better – the best one will get to work with artistic director of IJAD, Joumana
Mourad and learn in a private lesson the skills behind performing on multiple platforms as well as starring in our all new Twitter Scratch Performances over the summer.
Get excited. Get involved. Follow @IJADdance and tweet at us to let us know you’ll be taking part or if you have any questions.
Kettle’s Yard will be screening In-Finite as part of their season of Adult Events (oo-eer) called The Practice Sessions.
That’s not all though folks. Joumana Mourad will be giving unique insights into the piece so you will
be able to see the effects of newly developed Sensography and Triple Choreography. These concepts
change the environment and the performer practice so that you will have an experience unlike any
other streamed performance you’ve seen to date.
Joumana will also be running a twitter workshop as this piece existed on twitter at the same time it
existed live on the night and over streaming. This isn’t any old ‘look at my sandwich’ tweeting, oh no,
we look at how twitter can be used as a creative tool for expression and there will be plenty to join
in with (including movement if you fancy it).
The creative team (designers, dramaturge, dancers et cetera) will be looking out for your tweets on
the night, so if you want to ask any questions while you watch – tweet away!
Ensure your phone is fully charged, because this is going to be one fully charged night, whether
you’re a newbie to ‘this whole social media thing’ or a passport holder of the twitterverse. We look
forward to seeing you there.
Find out more here: http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/education/adults/##NEWS FLASH##
We’re re-opening our anonymous survey to gather your secrets which will be workshoped on the
night. You can tweet them privately to @infinite13 or here: survey monkey
