We might think of choreography in terms of ‘rehearsal’; that is, as the working out and working through of utopian, nevertheless ‘real,’ social relations.
Social Choreography permeates the tightly knit fabric of socialization, for other potential realities to be sensed and experienced, and for new relational fields amongst human and non-human to be forged. The practice of Social Choreography deals with the uncovering of underlying social relations and patterns—the choreography of the social—through embodied practices, and always, engages these dynamics for new social choreographies to emerge simultaneously.
Michael Kliën’s choreographic work has long ventured beyond the stage, exploring how movement can shape not only bodies, but societies. His practice conceives of choreography as the aesthetic and ethical structuring of society itself. Central to this enquiry has been the design of new cultural institutions, including Barriedale Operahouse in London (1994–2000), Daghdha Dance Company in Limerick (2003–2011), and R.I.C.E. on the Greek island of Hydra (2013–). These institutions distinguish themselves through interdisciplinary research, critical discourse, the suspension of dominant ideologies of productivity, and a sustained commitment to social openness and the potential of ‘the other.’ Numerous educational and social choreographic formats have emerged from this context (Daghdha Space slideshow 2005–2010). Kliën was a founding member of the Institute for Social Choreography in Frankfurt (2012), and in 2020, he established Laboratory for Social Choreography at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University — dedicated to reimagining societal arrangements through embodied practice, speculative imagination, and transdisciplinary collaboration.
