From strangers, to acquaintances, to companions? The LACE Symposium at the ImPulsTanz festival is not just an academic meeting. In an age of loneliness and physical disconnection lies an urgent emphasis on sensory perception, new movements and questions about how we can truly be together.

In ancient Greek the word “symposium” simply meant “to drink together” in a social setting, including dance, poetry and conversations after a joined meal: A space to face each other, and to enjoy doing so. So even if this title is now associated with strict academic panels, the LACE Symposiums’ second edition at ImPulsTanz certainly knows to remember its roots by approaching topics like integration and hospitality: How is “being together” possible today? What role can physical contact as a medium play? And how is our idea of community shaped by the culture we live in? For one day I joined the LACE Symposium as a participant and observer, following a series of presentations about the concept of “mediating touch” that was everything but theoretical monologues.

Tied to each other

The day at the symposium was structured: After an opening circle, three Deep Dives followed - a format where performers or researchers share their practice and creative vision on the topic of hospitality. The day ended with a panel discussion moderated by guest hosts and a closing circle by the curating team. Not only did the participants meet at the studio - multiple live cameras, as well as a big screen in the background captured the symposium, making it accessible for video participation via Zoom and creating a buzzing space of interconnection.

Chen Nadler starts the day with a first exercise: Two people turn to each other, sitting on the floor – these pairs form a bigger circle in the room. Chen encourages them to look into the other person’s eyes, then to grab red bands to wrap around each other’s hands as a ritual. I was impressed by how gentle and familiar the couples approach this new shared space. After all, most of the people present have met only minutes before.

Imagine a blackbird

The three following Deep Dives did not only focus on sharing theoretical progress, but the speakers gave us a live example of their research by moving through the room together and offering the audience to try out these theories at the same time. From feeling the absence of touch to playing with capitalised depictions of care - all presentations offered an escape from the predominant interpretations of what it means to touch and to meet each other. One session that particularly fascinated me was Mapping Touch by Jenny Roche. She too started with a simple exercise: “Write down a word in your head” she announced, “the word is: blackbird”. What followed was an interview-style reconstruction of our different imaginations and associations of the moment. Some first saw the colour black, others the bird, and others again saw letters on paper. The same technique was then translated to experiences of the body. How does a certain choreography feel to a performer? How can we describe what it feels like move in a certain way?

At this point I started to understand the introspection: Groups of two again were supposed to touch each other gently on the arm, without an intention. This was an entirely new situation for me. Just to feel the anticipation was an intense experience. But in this setting, I felt a safe space for experimenting evolve, and then the delight of touch that was free from any social connotations. We shared this tiny moment, and then had the connection to start a conversation afterwards. It seems like a simple task to recognize the mediating qualities that can lie in physical contact, but to establish them in the ways we meet each other and to reflect on these possibilities is part of the great question that our future holds: How to nourish a sense of community and how to establish contact that exists outside of anonymous networks. The LACE Symposium surely understands its pressing task of reflecting these important forms of interaction, not only through performance practices but also to bring the concepts of “mediating touch” back to everyday life.

This article was originally written for the LACE Symposium website and is a repost.