Strategies of Creating Presence in the Space of the City : Analysing the Role of Somatic Practices in Performance Within Urban Environments

Abstract

Performance located in public space seems to have a strong potential for creating a base for social bonding. Various forms of artistic activism designed for spaces that are defined as common and accessible open a possibility of experiencing a performative event collectively, and sharing the present moment on the physical and intellectual grounds. Somatic practices, which emphasise the individual body in relation to the surrounding environment, also have the potential to achieve this. How can the somatic practice of presence in the public space be cultivated? Is the collective experience of body awareness enough to make a ground for social change? Based on the collective score-making, this research on performance practice explored the topic of somatic presence in public, questioning what forms of movement performance can connect audiences and performers through a shared experience. This research, moreover, revealed a prospect of participatory performance as a form of collective presence-making and the aptitude of flow as an entry state for initiating the process of social bonding. In this article I focus on developing the somatic scoring practice as an artistic strategy for exploring body politics.