Stephanie initiates her own research projects and she has been invited to various projects, which were directed by other artists or curators. The intention of these events is to bring together artists from different disciplines to explore meeting points in their creative practice.
Current projects:
Research and Development with Sankalpam
Sankalpam is an Indian classical dance company founded in 1994 by Mira Balachandran Gokul and Stella Uppal Subbiah, two alumni of Kalakshetra College of fine arts, India. Sankalpam work with traditional Indian dance forms such as Bharata Natyam. Music forms an integral part of their performance, as does costume, light and language through poetry and song. Sankalpam are working with Stephanie during a research and development period to gain new input into their practice, looking at the use of sounds, text and ways to develop movement.
Examples of past projects:
Writing on the Body, Writing on the Page
- A project for those curious about the process of composition.
In summer 2006 writer Dick McCaw invited a number of playwrights and choreographers to an informal conversation at the Royal Court Theatre. The aim was to discover how they describe their own creative process in their own words and where the conversations establish common ground. In a second stage in autumn 2007 each choreographer paired up with a playwright in a workshop at The Jerwood Space. The intention was to extend the initial meeting points found in the conversation into a practical exploration. Stephanie Schober collaborated with John Donnelly and dancers Elisabetta d'Aloia and Keir Patrick. Dick McCaw documented the process with the intention to share the artist's discoveries with a wider group of people. To read the transcripts of the conversations and practical workshops go to www.bodiesofknowledge.org
Exploratorium
Curated by Dance Northwest in summer 2006, a group of choreographers came to Liverpool to direct their independent research. Stephanie Schober collaborated with dancers Lily Dettmer and Belinda Grantham to explore new ideas for combining life voice and movement. Choreographers Marc Whitlaw, Lois Taylor and Jacqueline Mc Gormick mentored her.
Dance Lines at the Royal Opera House
Dance Lines is a two week long lab to create new opportunities for dancers and choreographers to work together. In 2006 Choreographers Saju Hari, Mickaela Polley, Frederik Opuku and Stephanie Schober collaborated with a group of 15 dancers to produce a short choreographic sketch that investigates compositional structures. The project is directed by choreographer Kim Brandstrup.
Choreodrome at The Place
Choreodrome is a regular initiative by The Place to support choreographers in directing their independent research. In 2005, Stephanie Schober worked with dancer Katsura Isobe and composer John-Marc Gowans, exploring new ideas for their collaboration between music and choreography. She also participated as a dancer in Jonathan Burrows' and Matteo Fargion's research. Her past Choreodrome projects (2001 -2003) included dancers Laura Anderson, Claire Godsmark, Katsura Isobe, Mayumi Miyaki, Hiroko Nakagawa, Patricia Okenwa, Kira Riiikonen, Ruth Voon and Patricia Woltmann, composer Nick Parkin and lighting designer Estelle Rickelton.
Royal Designers for Industry Summer School
In 2004 this yearly project was directed by designer Julian Brown, who brought together 31 young designers specializing in product design, industrial design, architecture, graphic design, theatre design and fashion design, 8 established designers who are part of the faculty of Royal Designers for Industry, and 6 artists who work in the different media of dance, music and science to discuss ideas and possible meeting points.
Inter-Practice Lab at Laban
This project was curated by Scott de Lahunta in 2004, who invited a group of dance artists to join this intensive research in choreographing relations between bodies, spaces, and electronic and digital media materials. A non-specialist approach to the media tools was key to the aims. This workshop began from the simple use of live video camera, performer and video monitor and evolved to integrate projectors, real time and pre-recorded media content, multiple images on stage and the software tools Isadora and Eyesweb. The lab was facilitated by New York/ Amsterdam based choreographer Susan Rethorst, New York based dance and media artists Dawn Stoppiello and Mark Coniglio (Troikaranch) and artist/ engineer Zachary Lieberman.
Chisenhale Artist Project - Shifting View
In 2004 Stephanie Schober collaborated with dancers David Minchin and Hallvord Steen in her studio based and site specific research. In the studio material was drawn from observing ordinary unselfconscious movements and developed through the dancers' individual interpretations. These fragments were then performed and filmed in a variety of public spaces. The aim of the research was to layer the devised material with the spontaneous happenings, to capture the combination of these contrasting elements through the camera and to create new meaning. Trang Le documented the project on video, which was presented as an installation at Chisenhale Dance Space.
Choreographer/ Composer Exchange at the Royal Festival Hall
Directed by Lisa Torun and Derek Nisbett in 2003, a group of choreographers and composers come together in this intensive project for practical work and discussion with the aim to nurture new ideas and partnerships.
Chisenhale Artist Project - Collaborations
In 2002 Stephanie Schober collaborated with sculptor Anne Wieselgren, the video-artist/ photographer Melanie Rozencwajg and dancers Bonita Chan and Ruth Voon in this week-long research project. The artists were looking at the body in different locations. They chose Home as a place for inspiration to collect images of the body in motion. The cross-art exhibition at Chisenhale Dance Space presented some of the outcome of the project.
Hothouse at The Place
Choreographers Hanna Gillgren, Robert Hylton and Stephanie Schober took part in Hothouse in 2001. The workshop was a chance to examine their creative process under the mentorship of Jonathan Burrows. The project involved dancers Katsura Isobe, Pia Nordin, and Ruth Voon.
For all enquiries about research and development work email info@stephanieschober.co.uk
