Somatics, referring to a set of body-based contemporary practices has achieved widespread recognition as a form of bodily knowledge. It coincides with a resurgence of philosophical and scientific interest in the role that the somatic plays in human thought and experience, and its reach encompasses contemporary arts that challenge the primacy of digital logic through the promotion of a more body-based and sensual approach to technology (Shusterman 2008; Damasio 1994).

This event to be held at the University of Chichester will integrate critical, theoretical and practical perspectives on the conference’s theme through keynote presentations by international specialists from the visual arts, dance and new media, with roundtable papers led by the speakers, conference papers and an exciting series of workshops, art exhibits and performances.

C O N F E R E N C E   O R G A N I S E R S

Andrea Davidson

A practitioner-scholar, Dr. Davidson is a specialist in visual theory, screendance, and choreographic practices involving new media. Following a career as principal dancer with major dance companies in Canada, the U.S. and Europe before turning to choreography and screendance, she completed graduate studies at the University Paris 8 leading to an MA in Screendance (1997) and a PhD in the Aesthetics of Interactivity (2003). A teacher at University Paris 8 and University Nancy 1 for ten years, she is currently Senior Lecturer at the University of Chichester and regularly gives lectures, seminars and workshops in dance, video and multimedia internationally.

Author of the book Bains Numériques #1: Danse et nouvelles technologies and articles and chapters in books, journals and revues, she is also an award-winning choreographer-videographer and multimedia artist of works including La morsure, a pioneer interactive choreography for CD-ROM and installation. Her works have been presented in numerous international festivals, art centres, symposia and exhibitions as well as having received the Prix de l’Écriture Multimédia de la Fondation Beaumarchais, special mention from the jury of the Festival Napolidanza Il Coreografo Elettronico and the Grand Prix International Videodanse section New Media from UNESCO.

She is currently writing a second book of portraits-monographs on international choreographers working with the digital.

Sarah Rubidge is Professor of Choreography and New Media at the University of Chichester, UK, and a practising choreographer. Her artistic work has been shown nationally and internationally. She has collaborated with composers, digital artists, computer scientists and neuroscientists in interdisciplinary collaborations leading to art installations, many of which focus on using the sensorium as the site of the dialogue between installation and viewer (Sensuous Geographies, Fugitive Moments). Some of the installations initiate improvisational choreographies (formal and informal) that become integral choreographic elements of the installation (Passing Phases, Sensuous Geographies). Others draw on the histories embodied in the fabric of old buildings (Hidden Histories, Time & Tide). The works have been shown as far apart as London, Los Angeles, and Brisbane.

Sarah also gives workshops and lectures on dance and technology in international venues, and is regularly invited to give keynote papers at international conferences, and has published extensively, with several book chapters currently in print. Her writing addresses the interweaving of the philosophical concepts that are embodied in her work in order to advance understanding of the intricate interplay between artistic and philosophical practice.