CHOREO-ETHICAL ASSEMBLAGES: Narrations of Bare Bodies

Choreo-ethical Assemblages Narrations of Bare Bodies is a research project led by Mariella Greil. In dialogue with international specialists from the fields of Performance, Philosophy and Therapy, she explores the various relations and intersections between the three research areas with a focus on practices/forms/methods of Being-In-Contact, investigating, reflecting and synthesising the sharings and differences between them. With practice as research at its heart, Choreo-ethical Assemblages Narrations of Bare Bodies stages a variety of choreo-ethical, inter-subjective and transdisciplinary encounters and explores the movements, interlinkings and interstices between practice and theory, developing fluency between thinking and doing. The conceptual bearing of choreo-ethical assemblages as highly mobile assemblies bound to singular, aesthetic-communicative situations gets probed in practice. A plurality of dialogue practices and modalities are to hand in the proposed cross-disciplinary laboratories. The hypothesis is that such assemblages arise in art, philosophy and therapeutic settings alike and the proposition is to explore how choreo-ethics a newly coined term have the capacity to activate processes, that form the fabric of social aesthetics through creative, performative tools. A variety of techniques, scores and practices of getting in touch, nurturing attention, thinking through and with arise as sensorial bodies. In expanded time frames dedicated to studio-experiments, an awareness and the skill to sustain inter-relational, choreo-ethical culture grow based on experiences and acts interwoven with dialogic discourse. This singular research project works towards articulations and actualisations of politicised practice and immanent ethical forces, emerging specifically where meetings, collisions and generative resistances occur between people, but also between fields of practices (Performance, Philosophy and Therapy). Opening up and closely investigating the non-verbal and verbal methods in the forming of encounters, interactions, traces or speculations within the framework of polylogic laboratories is central, resulting in embodied knowledges and their dissemination through workshops, lab openings, performances, lectures and publications. A rich collection of Narrations of Bare Bodies will be developed rehearsed and probed in the space of art as a potent social intervention and findings as well as research processes will be shared with the public.

Choreo-ethical Assemblages - Narrations of Bare Bodies How do bodies relate to one another when they meet, move, and share space? How can artistic practices help us rethink care, vulnerability, and responsibility in a world shaped by ecological, social, and political crises? These questions guided the research project Choreo-ethical Assemblages - Narrations of Bare Bodies. The project explored the idea that no body exists in isolation. Human bodies are often connected to other people or species, technologies and materials, as well as environments. Through artistic research, performances, workshops, publications, and international collaborations, the project investigated how these connections become visible and tangible through movement and choreographic scores. One of the project's most significant achievements was the development of the concept of choreo-ethical assemblages. This concept describes situations in which movement creates relationships and responsibilities between different bodies and forms of life. Rather than focusing on individual performers, the research highlighted how bodies constantly influence and are influenced by their surroundings. This perspective offers new ways of understanding coexistence, interdependence, and collective action. The project also introduced the notion of bare bodies as bodies that are exposed, vulnerable, and dependent on others. By examining stories of bodily experience, the research challenged ideas of autonomy. It showed that vulnerability is not a weakness but a shared condition that can become a source of connection, empathy, and care. A key outcome was the creation of innovative artistic formats that brought together dance, performance, writing, and participatory practices. These formats enabled audiences, artists, and researchers to engage directly with questions of embodiment, ethics, and ecology. The project fostered dialogue across disciplines and created spaces where knowledge could emerge through experience rather than through theory alone. The research findings were shared through performances, exhibitions, academic publications, public presentations, and educational activities. International networks were strengthened, and collaborations between artists and scholars generated lasting partnerships that continue beyond the duration of the project. For the wider public, the project offers a timely reminder that human life is fundamentally relational. At a moment when societies are confronted with environmental challenges, social fragmentation, and growing uncertainty, Choreo-ethical Assemblages - Narrations of Bare Bodies demonstrates how artistic practices can help us imagine more responsible and caring ways of living together. By paying attention to movement, vulnerability, and connection, the project contributes to a deeper understanding of what it means to share a world with others.