State of the Art: The 2022 International Symposium on Screendance will be hosted at UW–Madison April 10-13, with events taking place primarily in the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space in Lathrop Hall (1050 University Avenue).
The symposium, directed by UW–Madison Art Professor Douglas Rosenberg, will focus on topics that are timely to the field of screendance, including, but not limited to, the feminist roots of screendance, the generational and evolving critical landscape of the field, decolonizing screendance, race and gender in screendance, intersectionality and facilitating new ways of knowing the cinematic body, and mapping the literature of the field. All events are free and open to the public
In the year 2000, UW–Madison held the first-ever International Dance for the Camera Symposium, which has, for the last 20 years, been a global touchstone for the field. It was a historic meeting that attracted not only scholars and practitioners of the genre, but choreographers and video/filmmakers from around the world including Latin America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and elsewhere. In addition to generating dialogue on the history and theory of the field, the symposium included roundtable discussions, lectures, and a screening of selected dance film and video work from around the world. It also provided a generational bridge to the future of the art form. As an outgrowth of the symposium, a number of participants took the experience back to their own communities and continued to nurture the field through courses, festivals, workshops, and other forms of audience building.
Since that time, the field has grown exponentially. There have been numerous international gatherings and symposia, new festivals, and screening opportunities — and new voices have emerged through both scholarship and practice. There is an International Journal of Screendance (founded at UW–Madison) and books, articles, and chapters that focus on the practice in multiple languages. As the field has evolved in the last two decades, it is a perfect time to bring together interdisciplinary artists and practitioners, scholars, and historians to share new research in the field and to continue to build a welcoming international community.
For more information, including a schedule and registration, visit screendancesymposium.art.wisc.edu, or follow the symposium on Instagram for updates.
The 2022 International Symposium on Screendance is generously supported by the Virginia Horne Henry Fund and is cosponsored by the School of Education’s Art Department and Dance Department. Promotional support is provided by the UW–Madison Division of the Arts.