PUBLIC RECORDINGS

CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS

8 DAYS II

A GATHERING OF CHOREOGRAPHERS AT TEN FIFTEEN MAPLE & THE DANCE CENTRE

AUGUST 10-18, 2013

Held over eight days, 8 DAYS is an intensive encounter for Canadian choreographers. The gathering values curiosity, creative risk-taking and reflection with a fluidity around the notions of theory and practice in order to engender the deepening of choreographic practice.

Selected by open call, six Canadian choreographers from across the country will be invited to join six past participants of the inaugural 8 DAYS. These 12 artists will embark on a co-authored adventure influenced by its surroundings, created by those who are present, and guided by their overlapping experience as choreographers. Participants are asked to arrive with an openness about what this encounter might be, a willingness to expose and share, and a rigour around intellectual and artistic exchange.

The ongoing 8 DAYS project addresses a need for peer-to-peer choreographic development in Canada, insisting that it is a mode that is crucial to the continued relevance of the art form. The question of how we practice is intimately related to what we create – understanding theory and practice, talking and making, doing and reflecting, as interwoven threads of creative development.  Here we can provoke and invigorate this question, and explore our practices in dialogue with other makers.

With everyday realities suspended for a time, 8 DAYS is an opportunity to escape the pressures of production-driven work in order to expand creative ideas and to imagine new ways of working. It creates space to reflect on one’s current practice and to envision – through dialogue and experimentation – new artistic possibilities.

Each participant will be responsible for facilitating and/or planning a portion of the shared time. The days will be divided between different activities, with participants responsible for the organization of modules. A typical day might include blocks for sharing work, studio-based exploration, and/or open discussion as well as shared meals and time for leisure and personal reflection.

The larger community will engage with 8 DAYS through its documentation and the subsequent dissemination of this material. Each participant will be asked to respond to the concept of documentation in order to share the experience with other dance professionals whom have not attended. To this end, each participant will create reflective responses that will be produced during or immediately following the gathering. This co-authored documentation will then be disseminated via a framework determined by the participants in order to share the process and its outcomes.

Logistical Details
8 DAYS will be held at ten fifteen maple in Vancouver, BC. Situated in Hadden Park, ten fifteen maple is an 850 sq. foot, beach-side field house outfitted with a full kitchen and two small work spaces. Surrounded by public parks and nestled between the Maritime Museum and Kits Beach, it is currently the shared studio for artists Rebecca Bayer, Justine A. Chambers, Josh Hite, Billy Marchenski and Kristen Roos whose collective research is rooted in psycho geography and phenomenology. A large dance studio will be available for the duration of the encounter at The Dance Centre, just a short aqua bus ride away.

The participating artists will arrive on Saturday, August 10th, and depart Sunday, August 18th. Public Recordings has applied for funding to cover travel costs, off-site accommodation and meals. Funding results should be known by the beginning of March 2013. Participants are encouraged to seek further funding to support their participation.

DEADLINE: Jan 21, 2013
Please submit a letter of interest and recent biography in addition to any work samples that are relevant to contextualize your application. The letter of interest should detail your current choreographic concerns and address how participation in this encounter might enrich your practice. Please keep your responses brief and select any support material carefully with the aim of addressing this specific opportunity.

Applications can be submitted in English or French. Please note: the working language will be in English.

All materials must be submitted electronically. Support materials must be included as an attachment or available online. Make sure to include all necessary links and access information. Please note, applications sent by mail cannot be processed.

For more information and to apply: eightdays (at) publicrecordings (dot) org