CORPoREAL was founded as a research group in 2014 at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. The focus of the research group is the physical presence of the (teaching) artist in the performing arts (dance, drama and music). Research tracks for 2024-2026 focus on the intersection between imagination and embodied learning in diverse society as a distinct artistic practice (teaching artistry and embodied learning), the experience of space, time and matter of the performing artist, and the resilient artist (injury prevention and mental resilience in the performing arts).
Overall, we see in the interartistic field an increasing importance of exploring more deeply the interfaces within all disciplines and of strengthening interdisciplinary practice through experimentation and research. The performance aspect is thereby explored in all its complexity - implicit, sensory, experiential knowledge and methods are made explicit from within the artistic process.
The aim of CORPoREAL is to support, understand, make explicit and communicate research into knowledge, creation, experience and transmission of these processes in artistic and art educational contexts. Our performance-oriented lines of research focus on the artistic understanding and aesthetic impact of bodily presence in the artistic process. The artistic-pedagogical research line supplements this knowledge from interaction with society - art education - and delves into artistic-pedagogical/didactic competences and art education practices linked to performance. CORPoREAL thus provides a unique platform for collaborative inter-artistic research on the correlation between art creation and the body; it supports researchers, teachers, students and PhD scholars at the Conservatoire in their acquisition of knowledge of artistic practices related to performance and art education projects.
Focus: Physicality in performing arts
Team: Bob Selderslaghs (chair), Kathleen Coessens en Annouk Van Moorsel (co-chairs), Karin de Fleyt (coordinator), Can Boyan, Anne-Lise Brevers, Miguelángel Clerc Parada, Lies Colman, Zoë Demoustier, Klaas Devos, Sanderijn Helsen, Renata Lamenza Epifanio, Georgia Nikolaou, Lauranne Paulissen, Annika Serong, Karel Tuytschaever, Libby Ward, Arkadi Zaides (current researchers)
Contact: Karin de Fleyt - karin.defleyt@ap.be
www.corporeal.be
(Photo: Marcelo Russo de Oliveira)
