A research forum for discourse and publication on Screendance

Screendance is a hybrid artistic practice with a considerable history that dates back to the beginning of film and Edison's first cinematic clips of dancers in 1895. As a distinctive art form Screendance is frequently equated with the work of the American dancer/ film-maker Maya Deren in the 1950's and has proliferated since the late 70's. However, despite its traditions, extensive history and a growing international interest, Screendance has not established or defined its own critical discourse.

Following from Screendance conferences organised by key researchers in the UK and USA since 2006 including: Opensource: (2006, 2007) Scotland; Screendance: State of the Art (2006, 2008); USA: and Moves: Choreography for the Screen, (2007, 2008), Manchester, this network will facilitate a vital and effective dialogue between UK and US based researchers and their various research centres. Together, the USA and UK lead the field with the major outputs dedicated to the genre thus far being 'Envisioning Dance on Film and Video (Mitoma, Routledge, USA,) 'Dance on Screen' (Dodds, Palgrave UK); 'Making Video Dance' (McPherson, Routledge UK); 'Anarchic Dance' (Aggiss/Cowie, Routledge, UK).

The proposed research group is made up of: Claudia Kappenberg (University of Brighton, England), Katrina McPherson (Dundee University, Scotland), Marisa Zanotti (Chichester University, England), Dr Christinn Whyte (Middlesex University, freelance writer), Prof. Douglas Rosenberg (University of Wisconsin, USA), Prof. Anne Cooper Albright (Oberlin College, Ohio USA), Harmony Bench (UCLA, USA).

Our proposed activities include the following:
Twice-yearly seminars (autumn and spring) for the core research group addressing the following:

1.Examination and critique of the existing body of literature; 2. Development of methodological forms of enquiry and scholarship appropriate to the field; 3. Systematic debate and investigation of Screendance in the context of current cultural and philosophical debates; 4. Exploration of the language of Screendance including its choreography, curation and dissemination.

Invited guest contributors will include: Prof. Ian Christie, Birkbeck, University of London (Film Studies); Prof. Noel Carroll, Temple University, USA (philosophy and cross-disciplinary discourse); Catherine Wood, Curator, Tate Modern (curation and publishing); Bob Lockyer, former Executive Producer of Dance, BBC TV; Dr Sherill Dodds, University of Surrey, author of Dance on screen: genres and media from Hollywood to experimental art (2001)tbc.

Research and development of a new research-focused Screendance website, supported by both UoB and DJCAD, which draws together research centres worldwide and makes available existing literature, the online publication of research-in-progress and strategies for curation, commissioning and dissemination. The website will facilitate a wider network that includes a range of audiences including established and early career researchers, experience scholars and festival directors.

To secure the ongoing dialogue and an international forum for Screendance debate, the network will review comparable journals and liaise with publishers to build on and develop an already existing proposal for a new dedicated journal for Screendance. The proposed website will be structured in such a way as to develop into an online presence for the Screendance journal.

The network will conclude with the a final symposium that will specifically support and encourage participation from early career researchers and practitioners worldwide and provide the opportunity to launch and disseminate the collective work of the Network and plan future research development.