In this chapter, I propose choreographic performance gives a temporary syntax to sites. I discuss how a site-specific work attends to somatic recognition of the layers of experiences that have developed there (its history) as well as contributing to a site’s potential (its future). The choreography thus draws on these possibilities of relationships and rhythms, somatic layers of experiences that make being present distinct, and brings particular configurations of connection to the fore. I suggest a site-specific performance could be seen to partner architecture in Place-making, I discuss a perspective on Place-making as a partnership of choreography and architecture drawing each other into being. I do this through Indigenous and Africanist lenses that provide alternative metaphysical frameworks to mainstream Western constructs. This exemplifies how a sense of Place emerges through a relational approach to space/time. I use my personal experience making work within the architecture of London and Boston to explore the syntax of moving around those cities with dance.
My chapter is part of this collection that comprises a comprehensive overview of key themes, arguments, and practices central to the study and understanding of site-specific performance.
Its collected essays, case studies, and practitioner accounts represent a must-have resource that engages with established and emergent ideas, themes, and practices central to this performance sub-discipline. Acknowledging the interdisciplinary nature of this field emergent through the creation and presentation of performance in non-theatre spaces, the companion includes writing from scholars whose work intersects with ideas from a range of related fields including dance, theatre, dramaturgy, human geography, architecture, walking studies, and archaeology. Alongside theoretical discussions and case study examples, a section on methods and structures allows site-specific practitioners to illustrate a range of practical approaches, tasks, and modes of producing site-specific performance in a range of sites.
This interdisciplinary survey brings together practices and voices from a wide range of global contexts, demonstrating and challenging the breadth of site-specific discourse. It provides a rich palette of perspectives, approaches, and ideas for students, academics, and researchers to draw from