A section of Water Walk by John Cage. Image: Chrisfred3 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67958084
C-DaRE Invites introduces a new series titled The Body and Time, curated by Jonathan Burrows and Kerry Francksen.
Split-second decisions
On May 20th 2026, Seke Chimutengwende, Rosemary Cisneros, and Lauren Scott examined split-second decisions, focusing on what happens in the split-second before the next action in improvisation.
Reflective time
On May 26th 2026, Ramsay Burt, Kate Ledger, and Rosemary Lee discussed reflective time, sharing their perspectives on time in reflective and somatic performance practices.
Comedic timing
For our next conversation, on June 3rd from 1:30 to 3:00 (BST), Pete Shenton, Tom Roden, and Sally Doughty will discuss the nature of comedic timing in dance performance. Together they will explore what makes an audience laugh or not, how approaches to time shape that response and why dance audiences often find quite unlikely things funny. Pete and Tom draw on their experiences collaborating as part of the acclaimed comedy stand-up duo New Art Club. Pete will also refer to his current PhD, which investigates this topic through a phenomenological lens. Sally Doughty brings her long-standing embodied practice as a dance artist and scholar, including recent collaborations with Pete that use comedy as part of their performance methodology.
Modes of attention
On 17th June from 11-12:30 (BST), we welcome Yves Citton and Bojana Cvejić to explore modes of attention, focusing on the impact of time on how, when, where, and why we focus our attention. Yves Citton is the author of ‘The Ecology of Attention’ (2017), and his most recent research looks at aspects of curiosity. Bojana Cvejić has been a dramaturge for choreographers such as Xavier Le Roy, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and Mette Ingvartsen, and her books include ‘Choreographing Problems’ (2015) and ‘Towards a Transindividual Self’ (with Vujanović, 2024).
Slow time
On 23rd June from 10:30-12 (BST), Tim Etchells and Adrian Heathfield round off the series with their discussion of slow time. Adrian and Tim are to discuss the nature and practice of durational performance. What forms, methodologies and performative strategies might emerge from an engagement with long duration, and how is our experience of time shifted by it? Adrian Heathfield draws upon his knowledge and research of live art performance, and particularly his long association with Taiwanese American artist Tehching Hsieh, whose series of year-long performances he helped curate as part of exhibitions at the Venice Biennale and the Dia Art Foundation, New York. Tim Etchells shares his long exploration of durational work with Forced Entertainment Theatre Company, including their 24-hour performances of ‘Quizoola’ (1996) and ‘Who Can Sing A Song to Unfrighten Me?’ (1999). which will close the series.
You are warmly welcomed to join us.