ICDS6: Ecologies of practice in music and movement (02 - 05 August 2023, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA).
Content:
0:00 - 03:30 - Introduction, Dr Stephen Neely, Chair of the Organizing Committee
03:31 - 01:01:32 - Dr Tawnya Smith, Keynote Speaker (Assistant Professor of Music, Music Education at Boston University)
01:01:33 - 01:13:09 - Marlies Mujizers, Performance
Dr Tawnya Smith - "Moving and Sounding in an EcoScape Belonging: Healing from False Notions of the Separate Self"
Feelings of isolation and disconnection are at the heart of many relational mental illnesses. Given the adolescent and young adult mental health crisis that started prior
to the pandemic and the collective trauma of the pandemic which we have fortunately survived, many of us are searching for the means to strengthen the mental wellbeing of ourselves and those with whom we are in relation. Engaging with music and movement can be seen as powerful means to connect with community, family, and friends. Yet, some forms of engagement are structured to segregate and isolate people based upon their ability or traditions. I draw upon ecopyschology, ecofeminism, and ecojustice education perspectives to show how notions of separation disconnect us from our identity as earth and as a welcome member of the human community. I critique practices, language, and structures that separate and harm; and I offer criteria for identifying forms of engagement that are sustainable, lifegiving, and foster a sense of belonging.
Marlies Mujizers - "De Klank Van Mijn Vermogen/The Sound of My Ability"
This is a choreography about accepting. Reflecting on my possibilities as a music teacher with physical restrictions led to writing poems, which instinctively inspired me to translate one of them (De klank van mijn vermogen / The sound of my ability) into a movement piece. Being part of the collaborative autoethnography by myself and John Habron-James as presented in ICDS5, it became another research process in itself: how can I connect to music with my pain and my wheelchair? The music which I dance to is a solo cello piece, composed especially for me. I recorded and performed it before my illness.
In the choreography I dance to my own cello sounds in a wheelchair. The musician in me has met the dancer in me: when dancing, I only need to be the cellist. My experiences from the Professional Dalcroze Certificate have given me the tools to enter modern dance, and this personal movement piece is my first choreography. The bodily awareness of time, space and energy have been a solid base for exploring my restricted body and wheelchair, which need much more time, space and energy to move comfortably.
My limitations trigger my creativity and lead to new areas of musical expression. Resilience needs movement.
8 окт 2023
