Merce Cunningham, dancer and choreographer
“The rhythm that is proper to capital is the rhythm of producing (everything: things, men, people, etc.) and destroying (through wars, through progress, through inventions and brutal interventions, through speculation, etc.)”
Henri Lefebvre, Rhythemanalysis: Space, Time and Everyday Life
In his writings on rhythmanalysis, the sociologist and philosopher Henri Lefebvre uses the aesthetic category of rhythm to analyse social life, developing an account of rhythm which stretches from the heartbeat to political systems. Lefebvre analyses Mediterranean cities, dressage, the media day, the manipulation of time and the view from his window. In light of the recent Covid-19 outbreak and proliferating shutdowns throughout the world it is hard not to think about how rhythm effects us socially, especially during moments of crisis. Likewise, in periods such as the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution and the counterculture of the Sixties there was an attempt to reimagine time and invent new rhythms.
This presentation, running parallel with our current dance film project, will draw upon the history of modern dance using examples from The Triadic Ballet, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham and the Black Mountain College, Michael Clarke, Pina Bausch, physical theatre and videos on Tic Toc in order to develop an understanding of the relationship between bodies, rhythms and historical change. Interweaving between these examples and the writings of Lefebvre we will attempt to think about what rhythm means to us today.
For this session we will be running both a small private outside event based in Brighton (UK) and a parallel Zoom session. We will be engaging and interacting with people online and in person. The event is free and all are welcome, however there are limited places available to the Brighton based event and we do require you to book in advance. To reserve a place at the outside event please email me at explodingappendix@gmail.com. The live outside event will be weather permitting and will start at 7pm.
This session will be run as part of the Exploding Appendix Avant-garde Art Practice and Research Group’s fortnightly meetup, which will be taking place online via Zoom. (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85620581769) The meeting ID is 856 2058 1769. This session will be run by Bradley Tuck and take place on the 22nd September from 19:30 – 22:30 (British Summer Time). If you would like to join us for the session, or have any questions please message me at explodingappendix@gmail.com
