Research Sander Vloebergs

Abstract

The interaction between dance and religion has become a research area of considerable growth and innovation. However, Catholic theologians do not participate in this research area, and choreographers hesitate to work with Christian rituals. Yet, during the twentieth century there have been precedents of "liturgical dance". Especially in Belgium, liturgical dance was rooted in a fruitful collaboration between artistic modern dance and the Catholic Church. Today, this liturgical dance practice has been virtually erased from the collective memory. So far, studies have not explained these peculiar changes. Moreover, no liturgical dance practices exist in Belgium, despite contemporary dance's interest in ritualistic performances and reenactments. The project proposes to utilize this unique opportunity to initiate a dialogue between dance studies and liturgical theology. It will use the artistic method of choreographic reenactment to research liturgical dance as a contemporary artistic and liturgical-theological phenomenon. To perform this practice-as-research, the project will address the historical changes and renegotiate the objections against liturgical dance, raised by Catholic Church authorities with special attention to the topics of "sacramentality", "inculturation" and "active participation". These reenactments will offer new insight in these three crucial topics, resulting in a pioneering study in "dance theology" as a theoretical and practical branch of theology.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Laet Timmy
• Fellow: Vloebergs Sander

Research team(s)

• Research Centre for Visual Poetics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research network wants to provide a vital stimulus for the expansion and anchoring of dance studies in Flanders and Europe. Even though Flanders is internationally known as an important hub for dance, this domain has still not acquired the same institutional embedding and visibility within the Flemish academic context. Research on dance is currently highly fragmented and mainly takes place within university departments that do not focus specifically on dance, but rather on other branches within the humanities, such as (art) history, cultural studies, theater and film studies, philosophy, sociology, or media studies. This interdisciplinary connection with other research domains is characteristic of dance scholarship, but the actual potential of this interdisciplinarity can only be fully exploited through a common network that enables dance scholars to bring their different methodological approaches into dialogue with each other. The national and international research units that are members of "CoDa | Cultures of Dance" bring together at least three fundamental pillars that are still too often treated separately in contemporary dance studies: (i) dance as an aesthetic practice (micro-perspective); (ii) dance as a sociocultural phenomenon (macro-perspective); (iii) dance and embodied knowledge (intra-perspective). Combining these perspectives enables the development of new interdisciplinary methodologies that increase both the scope and depth of dance studies. In addition, the research network allows to bring together the expertise of both national and international partners and to immerse future dance scholars in a top-level research environment through training activities, Spring Schools, or networking opportunities. With these and other initiatives, CoDa will make a significant contribution to expanding both the visibility and existing expertise in dance research at Flemish and other European universities within the international field of dance studies.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Laet Timmy
• Co-promoter: Iwaki Kyoko
• Co-promoter: Vloebergs Sander

Research team(s)

• Research Centre for Visual Poetics

Project type(s)

• Research Project