Form in Question (FiQ) brought together diverse disciplinary perspectives to examine concepts of ensemble, improvisation and choreography; to generate new thinking and language around collective performance; and to initiate conversation across the spectrum of ensemble practices.
In the spirit of working collectively, we designed a symposium that enables a group of approximately 150 people to engage with one another across a variety of disciplines and through a variety of interactive formats. We aimed to create an environment where trans-disciplinary questions about ensemble, improvisation and choreography, and performance can be asked in written, verbal and physical form.
Questions arising during the symposium addressed differences/similarities among improvising performance ensembles whose work is centered in music, text, and/or movement; the contribution of the cognitive neurosciences in understanding notions of distributed/group cognition and emergent phenomena in improvised ensemble performance; how to problematize traditional and neat categorizations of common dance terms such as improvisation and choreography; notions of freedom and the spontaneous performance of acquired habits in self-organizing ensembles; what conditions/skills are conducive to a sense of ensemble; how acts of collaborative performance trouble traditional notions of choreographer, director, and composer; and other related questions and areas of research that engage ensemble-improvisation-performance.
Rosemary Quinn, Co-Chair
Pamela Pietro, Co-Chair
Nina Martin, Co-Chair
Planning Committee:
Gwendolyn Alker (Department of Drama, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU)
Barbara Browning (Performance Studies, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU)
Sean Curran (Department of Dance, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU)
Nate Flower (Department of Drama, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU)
Levi Gonzalez (Movement Research)
K.J. Holmes (Department of Drama, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU)
Phyllis Lamhut (Department of Dance, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU)
Paul Langland (Department of Drama, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU)
Margaret Paek (Conservatory Faculty, Lawrence University)
Shelley Senter (Lower Left Dance Collective)
Karen Shimakawa (Department of Performance Studies, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU)
Nancy Smithner (Music and Performing Arts Professions, Steinhardt School, NYU)
Indah Walsh (Tisch Initiative for Creative Research, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU)
Dana Whitco (Tisch Initiative for Creative Research, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU)