thor project, University of Bern
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In my anthropological journey into intimacy, I sought to understand how to approach this sensitive topic. With a decade of dance experience alongside anthropology studies, I saw dance as a tool for knowledge. Thus, I developed Dancing Aesthesia—a method blending dance with Arts-Based Research and Research-Creation.
In my postdoc research, I collaborate with diverse dance groups—students, professionals, and improvisers. We share expertise, invent exercises, and co-create to explore intimacy. This collective process involves participants early on, allowing them to share stories and rewrite narratives. Meeting regularly over months fosters deep reflection and diverse expression of intimate experiences.
In the dance studio, live situations provoke discussions, exchanges, and collective thinking on intimacy. Memories and reflections emerge, intertwining theory and practice through embodied experiences.
As a researcher in Dancing Aesthesia, I act like a choreographer, orchestrating elements in space and gathering expertise around a topic. Collaborating non-hierarchically, participants become co-researchers, shaping the investigation.
Dancing Aesthesia is influenced by the SenseLab of Montreal, which integrates theory and practice through movement experiments. Their transdisciplinary collaboration emphasizes “thinking by doing,” recognizing concepts emerge through events.
Claire Vionnet
Claire Vionnet studied social sciences at the University of Lausanne, specializing in anthropology. With a Swiss National Science Foundation scholarship, she completed a PhD on gestures in contemporary dance. She has worked with Swiss dance companies and collaborated with institutes in Bern and Aberdeen. Her writing covers the Swiss dance scene and art-anthropology collaboration. In her postdoc, she will explore the intimacy of the dancing body.
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thor project, University of Bern
University of Bern
Faculty of Humanities
Walter Benjamin Kolleg
E-mail
info@thor-project.ch
Address
Muesmattstrasse 45
CH-3012 Bern