An Art in Sharing: Reflections on Somatic Attention and Queer Choreographies

Abstract

Looks at the ways in which the queer is performed, choreographed and received in contemporary art, particularly in relation to the ways in which connection functions in dancing and dance reception. Particular emphasis is given to the concept of intersubjectivity and its connective function, using theories taken from Hannah Arendt and Emmanuel Levinas. Examples of artworks by Forest V. Kapo, val smith are discussed. The concept of somatic attention is addressed, the ways in which somatics is a normative system that often generalises and promotes bodies that are homogenous, a-historical and so-called natural. Another central concept is kinaesthetic queerness and the role it might play in de-naturalising somatics and somatic attention. A brief history of how somatics came to the shores of Aotearoa New Zealand is included. A first-person account of the choreographic artwork Moving Backwards (2019) by Pauline Boudry and Renate Lorenz is included, exploring moving backwards as a way to physically perform resistance, challenge progress and encourage strange encounters that might be points of departure for the unexpected. The final section explores aspects of dancing and dance reception that are unchosen, employing theories of encounter gleaned from Levinas, arguing that his idea of appeal or call and response is an interesting model for the reception of dance.