Dance Creation as a Reflective Practice Residency

Open Call for Residency : Dance Creation as a Reflective Practice

Are you a choreographer, dancer, or other artist working with dance, and want to explore the creative process of dance as a reflective practice? Paleochori invites you to apply for an immersive Residency in Lefkada Island.

About the Residency:

After the great response of our first Residency on dance improvisation and movement research, Paleochori presents its second open call for residency, focusing on dance creation as a reflective practice. Nestled in the serene beauty of Lefkada Island, this artist-run residency offers a supportive environment for 12-16 participants to delve into the art of dance making.

What We Offer:

• A nurturing environment fostering creativity, collaboration, and self-reflection.

• A diverse community of artists dedicated to exploring the thematic of the residency.

• Opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange and experimentation.

• Accommodation in our camp, harmoniously integrated into the natural landscape, featuring shared facilities and a spacious open-air studio with a breathtaking view.

• Engaging activities including thematic workshops, collaborative projects, book readings, hiking, swimming, gardening, woodworking, and others related to the local community such as traditional dance classes, music concerts, etc.

• Vegetarian meals from local producers and our garden.

What You Have To Take Care Of:

• Participants are responsible for their travel expenses, though we can assist with acceptance letters for funding purposes, after selection.

• Since the space is isolated and there are no nearby restaurants or food markets, we will provide 2 full meals and 1 light meal per day during the whole residency period (Sundays include only breakfast). We shall also provide accommodation for the duration of the residency in shared canvas bell tents of three or four with mattresses and bed linens provided (participants can choose their roommates). To cover the expenses of these services for the whole month, participants are required to contribute with the amount of 450 euros.

Who Should Apply:

We welcome applications from choreographers, dancers, and other artists passionate about dance creation as a reflective practice. If you’re exploring choreographic approaches that approach the dancing body as a complex individual and seeking interdisciplinary horizontal learning-researching and creating set up, this residency is for you.

More Details Regarding the Residency:

Kyveli Kouvatsi and Yorgos Sioras Deligiannis will provide gentle facilitation, focusing mostly on practical aspects such as space operation and safety. However, this shared experience of co-living and co-practicing is primarily designed to be self and collectively regulated. Day-to-day activities can vary from sharing movement practices to collective book readings and movie nights, as well as engaging in creative initiatives, open talks with or without the local community, public interventions, bread making, or hiking to the waterfalls.

We’ll have daily group circles and take care of the space to maintain its functionality. There will be no requested outcome for the residency, instead, our focus will be on simply being and being together.

During the residency, participants will engage in various practices of decision-making within their crafts and research processes, but also in relation to the co-living experience. These decisions serve as opportunities for personal and collective growth in a set up where everyone is seen, and seen as equal.

Through making choices in movement and life, participants are invited to deepen their understanding of dance making, expand their creative strategies and ways of collaborating, while engaging in a sharing and\or self learning processes.

For the collaborative nature of this residency, we can only hope that it will excel in its cultural exchange nature and become a community-building experience that will address social issues, challenge norms, and inspire positive change.

Last but not least, we would love to meet individuals who are interested in topics such as:

• Decolonised techniques

• Decentralized dance narratives

• Choreo and micro activisms

• Choreographic strategies for reflection

• Dramaturgical integration of audience in the reflecting process

• Re-moving trauma and re-empowerment through the ‘other’

• Posthumanism and eco-dances

Application Details:

• Duration: September 2 – 29, 2024 (Arrival day is on the 2nd and departure day is on the 29th. Arriving later than the 2nd is not possible.)

• Deadline for applications: ~~May 28, 2024~~. Extended deadline: June 5th, 2024

• Notification of Acceptance: until June 20, 2024