Social Choreography Lab Helsinki
The Social Choreography Lab Helsinki was formed in 2020 as a collaborative experiment in re-figuring social relations through movement and theory. As a cultural practice, Social Choreography can create new spaces, preparing the imagination for envisioning new social relations and ecological thinking.
Directed by Jon Irigoyen in collaboration with Emma Hovi, the Lab is based at The Performance Arts Center Eskus in Helsinki and has been supported by Esitystaiteen Seura - Live Art Society.
Developed primarily through a series of ongoing workshops, festivals and talks facilitated by different practitioners, the network of the Lab currently includes more than 300 people. Invited facilitators in the past two years include choreographer Mikko Niemistö, dancer and choreographer Pia Lindy and dance artist Sally Davison.
All activities of the Lab are free of charge and open to everyone, disregarding background, skills or abilities. The gatherings of the Lab offer possibilities for encounters that could grow into long-lived collaborations, locally and internationally.
As we understand, Social Choreography investigates the intersections between embodiment, choreography and political life. It explores how we can learn and unlearn pre-choreographed aspects of our personal, social, cultural and political lives. As a cultural practice, it can create new spaces, preparing the imagination for envisioning new social relations and ecological thinking.
Some sessions are facilitated by Jon Irigoyen and Emma Hovi, others are facilitated by invited guests whose practices we believe contribute to developing our understandings of Social Choreography. How can we use Social Choreography as a tool to explore movement in various contexts, artistic or otherwise?
Each facilitator brings their specific interests and experience into play with the idea of Social Choreography as an open-ended practice exploring movement across established disciplines. The sessions are in other words experimental. All gatherings are open to everyone and free of charge. The gatherings offer possibilities for encountering people, practices and ideas that could grow into long-lived collaborations.
The Social Choreography Lab Helsinki is based at The Performance Arts Centre Eskus - Esitystaiteen keskus ry. Kaasutehtaankatu 1, 00540 Helsinki, Finland.
Similar initiatives are already operating in Frankfurt, Germany and Duke University, USA.
The project is part of Jon Irigoyen's artistic research at Aalto University Department of Art. Project kindly supported by Kone Foundation, and presented in partnership with Esitystaiteen Seura and Aalto University.
Contact information:
socialchoreography.helsinki@gmail.com
+358442007728