Bringing the body into focus
by Emma Masters
Embalmed in ancient Egypt, glorified in the renaissance arts and
sciences, the human body has been a source of fascination through the ages.
Today, from fashion to body art, dance to medicine, the body continues to
provide a point of definition and focus. And now UniSA researchers have made
it the centre of attention of a new research group, Cultures of the Body,
launched in September at the Adelaide Festival Centre.
The group is comprised of UniSA lecturers Dr Vicki Crowley, Dr Jackie Cook and Dr Susan Luckman (all from the School of Communication, Information and New Media), Jeff Meiners (Education) and Professor Julianne Cheek (Nursing and Midwifery).
The group‘s launch followed their first public forum Talking Bodies, a free event that allowed the public to engage with four internationally renowned Adelaide-based choreographers and dancers – Helen Omand (independent artist), Kat Worth (Restless Dance Company), Garry Stewart (Australian Dance Theatre) and Leigh Warren (Leigh Warren and Dancers).
On a panel chaired by Jeff Meiners, the artists discussed the ways they work with different bodies, from the classically trained to those with disabilities, and also talked about the ways they approach performance and adopt different dance forms.
Following the success of the forum, the group hopes to continue breaking down barriers between academics, artists working in their practice and the broader community.
“We‘re interested in supporting performers and arts organisations, helping them interpret their work in the broader community as well as working to expand the academic field of cultural studies and ways of seeing the body,“ says Dr Vicki Crowley.
“By looking at different perspectives on the body we will be gauging what practioners and the public think. Dance is just the beginning.“