“seen SEEing”: Dance Performance by Valeska Gert Visiting Professor and Choreographer Navtej Singh Johar
Master’s students in the dance studies program at Freie Universität Berlin to present their capstone project / Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. (CET) in the foyer at the Institute of Theater Studies / Discussion to follow
№ 164/2023 from Jul 14, 2023
Students in the master’s degree program in dance studies at Freie Universität Berlin will be hosting a dance performance at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 20, 2023. Under the title of “seen SEEing,” the students will showcase the results of the project they conducted within a seminar led by the current Valeska Gert Visiting Professor, choreographer and activist Navtej Singh Johar, over the course of the 2023 summer semester. Johar and his students explored the body and its relation to space, while also questioning what constitutes a performance. They also examined how the act of being seen affects performers and asked what audiences see compared to what performers see. Their work also investigated the very concept of seeing itself and how it might be defined differently. The performance and subsequent discussion will be open to the public and held in English. Entry is free of charge.
The Valeska Gert Visiting Professorship is hosted jointly by Freie Universität Berlin’s master’s degree program in dance studies, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Akademie der Künste (AdK). The visiting professorship takes its name from Valeska Gert (1892–1978), one of the most innovative and prominent avant-garde dancers of her time, whose work was heavily influenced by the city of Berlin. The professorship’s namesake stands for dancers and performers who show great potential and are leaving their mark on the world of dance.
Navtej Singh Johar, a choreographer, yoga practitioner, scholar, and social activist from Delhi, was appointed Valeska Gert Visiting Professor at Freie Universität Berlin for the second time this 2023 summer semester. He taught the course “Repose to Power: Claiming the Immersive Practice of ‘Ease’” in the master’s degree program in dance studies. The course focused on the phenomenon of “ease” and was based on somatic practices that lead to a profound experience of ease, repose, pleasure, and spaciousness. In the daily documentation of these practices, the students reflected not only on the processes of the practice, but also on the lingering impact, as a way to question and revise habitual modes of perception.
Johar’s work is based on the principles of the classical Indian dance style Bharatanatyam, physical theater, and somatic approaches. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Contemporary Choreography, Johar blends dance movement with critical theory work and social action. In his practice as a yoga teacher, he works with asana, pranayama, meditation, visualization, and Vedic chanting. In addition to his artistic practice, Johar is also well-known for his political advocacy for LGBTQI* rights. The law decriminalizing homosexuality, which was passed by the Supreme Court of India in the summer of 2018, bears his name.
The performance will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the foyer of the Institute of Theater Studies at Grunewaldstraße 35, 12165 Berlin-Steglitz, on Thursday, July 20, 2023. It will be followed by a discussion between Navtej Singh Johar, Professor Lucia Ruprecht, who is a scholar in dance studies, and the master’s students.
Further Information
Event Details
- Date and time: July 20, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.
- Location: Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Theater Studies, Grunewaldstraße 35, 12165 Berlin-Steglitz
- How to reach the venue: BVG (public transportation) – Take the S1 or U9 to Rathaus Steglitz and then the X83 bus to Schmidt-Ott-Straße. There are parking spaces in the courtyard behind the building (via Schmidt-Ott-Straße). To get to the foyer press the button marked “2” when you enter the elevator in the basement.
Contact
Dr. Kirsten Maar (she/her), junior professor of dance studies, Institute of Theater Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Grunewaldstraße 35, 12165 Berlin, Email: kimaar@zedat.fu-berlin.de