Call for Proposals

In what ways can dance (in its broadest definition) enable people to think about themselves, their communities, their environments, their past, their aspirations and their future in a new and transformative fashion? The 13th NOFOD conference is concerned with democracy, a word with Greek roots meaning ‘government by the people’. The concept of democracy takes on a variety of meanings in different times, places and contexts, but its characteristic key effects remain ‘different practices of inclusion and exclusion’ (Lena Hammergren 2011). In recognition of this, the conference invites contributions exploring and celebrating the multiverse of dance practices, theories, and histories in relation to democratic challenges in a global, yet always also local world.

Questions that may be considered include but are not limited to: Who are the dancer, student, and audience today? How can the increasingly problematic political situation for publicly supported dance education, institutions and independent initiatives in Nordic countries be critically and constructively addressed? What counter-forces and activist, alternative, and historically anchored approaches are in play? If dance takes place in a global world, what new strategies emerge in the local contexts, and how does the local affect the global? How do networks and social media actualize local and global questions? What happens with issues of identity production in a world where few things are given? How do the rhetoric and politics of value, quality and equality operate in various dance contexts? And how does practice-based and theorized research address such crucial questions?

Striving to embrace a plurality of approaches, in a shared, creative and illuminating space, the organizers warmly welcome you to Gothenburg, which is hosting the NOFOD conference for the first time.

For the upcoming 13th international NOFOD conference the NOFOD board welcomes practice-based, artistic and scholarly contributions. We encourage you to submit a wide range of proposals for presentations: movement workshops, paper presentations, lecture-demonstrations, roundtable discussions, lecture performances, conversations, as well as other formats.

Guidelines for Proposals:

We welcome proposals in the form of abstracts of no more than 300 words including presenters’ names, affiliations and email addresses. Please use: NOFOD abstract form

We encourage you to submit a wide range of proposals:

• Paper presentations: 20 minutes + up to 10 minutes discussion
• Lecture-demonstrations: 60 minutes all included
• Roundtable discussions and conversations: 60 minutes all included
• Movement workshops: 60 minutes all included

Other formats: please specify whether the format needs 20 minutes or 60 minutes.

The deadline for proposal submission is December 1, 2016. All submissions should be sent as email attachments (in word format) to [email protected]

Proposals will be selected by the conference committee that consists of an editorial board of current NOFOD board members. The focus will be on the conference theme and the quality of the abstracts. The applicants will be notified of acceptance by December 24, 2016 via email.

For questions about proposals, please contact: Hilde Rustad, Chair of the NOFOD board, [email protected], +47 417835358