Studio sharing: Secondhand Knowledge

Secondhand Knowledge is a research project conducted by Rósa Ómarsdóttir in collaboration with Ásrún Magnúsdóttir and Alexander Roberts taking place in smaller dance scenes around the periphery of Europe.

Coming from Iceland, a very isolated island way up in the north, they realized that their perception of dance history was maybe not the same one as has been written about in central Europe. Their knowledge was mostly received second hand from the eurocentrically claimed history of dance. When their only insight into what was going on in the dance world was through YouTube trailers of dance pieces, they found themselves filling in the gaps and imagining what the rest of those trailers was. Often this misinterpretation lead to something completely different. Having a strong belief in the value of knowledge that is received secondhand, interpreted and often mistranslated, they travel through the periphery of Europe and work with local dance artists there in workshop situations, they have travelled to Acropoditi Dance Center in Syros (Greece), Borabora in Arhus (Denmark), Reykjavík Dance Atelier (Iceland), Dance House Lefkosia (Cyprus) and Theatre ITD in Zagreb (Croatia) and worked with the Choreographers Association in Riga (Latvia) and now here at DansiT in Trondheim.

Together with the workshop participants they map the knowledge and influences they hold, raise questions and concerns, vocalise them, and attempt to answer them in practice. The focus is on this notion of secondhand knowledge and how to utilise it in various ways. Another part of the research happens through interviews and talks over a cup of coffee. From them Rósa edits together the Anonymous Auto-Biography of the dance scene in Trondheim.

So come and join us on Thursday for the sharing of what we have been doing in the workshop and for the presentation of The Anonymous Auto-Biography of Trondheim’s dance scene, and hear about the gossip, rumors and stuff you should know!