Alice O'Grady | University of Leeds (original) (raw)
Papers by Alice O'Grady
Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, Jun 1, 2015
Focussing on the UK’s vibrant alternative festival scene, this article examines how traces of the... more Focussing on the UK’s vibrant alternative festival scene, this article examines how traces of the free party movement in the late 1980s continue to pervade the ethos and aesthetic register of contemporary events. It considers the potent DiY ethic of the campsite that emerged as a result of the convergence of Travellers with sounds systems such as Spiral Tribe, Exodus and Bedlam. It examines how the aesthetics and ethics of these rural, grassroots gatherings hark back to a particular moment in British history and how the sights, sounds and cultures of the current festival circuit are intimately connected to the histories from which they grew. The article argues for a reading of outdoor space, as experienced within the frame of the alternative festival, as a locale for the performance of political and personal freedoms. It asks how the cultural legacy of opposition through dancing outdoors serves as an expression of democratic culture and as spatial practice of belonging. The article makes explicit the links between alternative forms of democratic participation and sensations of individual and collective well-being that arise from outdoor dance experiences. Finally, it considers the role of rurality in constructing a festival imaginary that promotes participation, agency and connectivity.
Studies in Theatre and Performance, 2013
Popular music festivals are convivial spaces where paradigms of play and participation proliferat... more Popular music festivals are convivial spaces where paradigms of play and participation proliferate. `Exploring radical openness' investigates the concept of relational performance where encounter and dynamic exchange are prioritized. Drawing on extensive practice-led research conducted predominantly within the UK festival circuit, it provides a model for interactivity that not only acknowledges the inherent unpredictability of festival sites but also exploits it in the pursuit of inclusivity and radical openness.
Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, 2013
This article explores some of the challenges of conducting research associated with play within t... more This article explores some of the challenges of conducting research associated with play within the context of EDMCs, with particular reference to the complex social and spatial dynamics of popular music festivals. The essential premise is that clubbing can be conceived as a form of play and, as such, can offer access to the experience of flow. The article considers the epistemological complexities of the researcher's own immersion within the play event and adopts practice-based research methodologies developed in performance studies as a way of acknowledging and critiquing the significance of felt experiences and embodied knowledge. It considers the practical and ethical challenges of researching a phenomenon where intrusion is not only inconvenient and impractical but effectively collapses and destroys the very object of attention. The article introduces the concept of autoethnographic flow and argues that, whilst such immersion is often viewed with suspicion by other disciplines, it is particularly pertinent to EDMC scholarship as the research stance offered here intentionally embeds the researcher within the research context and uses this positioning as a key element of research design.
Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, Feb 19, 2013
This article outlines the activities of the research network ‘Festival Performance as a State of ... more This article outlines the activities of the research network ‘Festival Performance as a State of Encounter’, which was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of the Beyond Text strategic programme. The network was formulated in 2008, and a range of different events were organized over the course of two years to explore the concept of relational performance within the context of popular music festivals. One of the central aims of the network was to bring into dialogue scholars from a range of disciplines within the performing arts and creative industries and industry professionals and practitioners working on the festival circuit. The network provided a meeting place for industry–academy collaboration that prompted genuine exchange and knowledge transfer across sectors and challenged assumptions about the role and value of expertise and experience in relation to research processes. The article examines the notion of encounter and co-creation not only as a method of practice in festival performance but also as a methodology for facilitating fruitful conversation and dynamic interaction between stakeholders with a shared interest in understanding the deep impact of embodied participation in festival spaces.
Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 2012
Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, 2012
This article examines the interrelated concepts of space, play and performativity in relation to ... more This article examines the interrelated concepts of space, play and performativity in relation to the underground club scene in the UK. Grounded in the discipline of performance studies, this article uses the lens of play to identify how the spatial characteristics of underground dance culture provide a fertile terrain for performative acts of collectivity and expression. Resonating with previous EDMC scholarship that invokes concepts of liminality and the social dimensions of "spontaneous communitas", the physical and psychical dimensions of play will be considered. Applying Turner's work on subjunctivity (1982) and Jill Dolan's concept of "utopian performatives" (2005) in relation to the psytrance scene, the article positions the underground party as a playful arena, a spatial construct that offers a context for moments of individual and collective transformation that are expressed and experienced performatively.
International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, Jan 1, 2007
... The interior life of iPoi: Objects that entice witting transitions in performative behaviour ... more ... The interior life of iPoi: Objects that entice witting transitions in performative behaviour ... The poier was extremely keen to try the system in a nightclub and so we approached a local pub that hosted a weekly club night and they agreed to allow us to come in and perform with the ...
International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, Jan 1, 2007
Abstract This paper presents Emergent Objects 2, a portfolio of sub-projects funded by the EPSRC/... more Abstract This paper presents Emergent Objects 2, a portfolio of sub-projects funded by the EPSRC/AHRC 'Designing for the Twenty-first Century' (D4C21) initiative. Our focus is on the way interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration allows fluidity and responsiveness in ...
Ride-the Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, Jan 1, 1999
... ALICE BAYLISS Head of Performing Arts, Josiah Mason College, Slade Road, Erdington, Birmingha... more ... ALICE BAYLISS Head of Performing Arts, Josiah Mason College, Slade Road, Erdington, Birmingham B23 7JH ... but 'only playing' because it is transient, creative and engages theimagination more than the ... It is associated with art and religion (that is, neither serious nor real), ...
The inherent freedom of playful arenas combined with intimate ubiquitous technologies has led to ... more The inherent freedom of playful arenas combined with intimate ubiquitous technologies has led to a new breed of performance. We draw on theory from computing, performance and club culture to illustrate the Performance Triad model, a method for the analysis, deconstruction and understanding of performance in playful arenas.
International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, Jan 1, 2005
This article charts the design, development and build of an interactive performance piece created... more This article charts the design, development and build of an interactive performance piece created specifically for use in a club context. At the time of writing it remains work in progress but our aim here is to articulate our creative and research goals and unpack some of the issues surrounding creating hybridized work. The piece takes a traditional set of poi that clubbers often dance with in trance and techno clubs and attempts to augment them with sensor technology in order to allow the shapes, patterns and movements made by the participant to become visualized elsewhere in the club space. Choreographic motifs drawn from the participants' motion in space with the poi add a further layer to the performance, which seeks to set up physical conversations between the dancer, the space, the technology and the club context itself.
The inherent freedom of playful arenas combined with intimate ubiquitous technologies has led to ... more The inherent freedom of playful arenas combined with intimate ubiquitous technologies has led to a new breed of guerrilla performance. We draw on theory from computing, performance and club culture to illustrate the Performance Triad model, a method for the analysis, deconstruction and understanding of tripartite interaction in playful arenas. We then apply the Performance Triad model to Schizophrenic Cyborg a part reversal of wearable computing technology where the user is outfitted with an electronic communication display and yet this display is visible to others not the cyborgs themselves. This ubiquitous performance investigates the shifting boundaries between performer, participant and observer and of technology-enhanced guerrilla performance.
Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, Jun 1, 2015
Focussing on the UK’s vibrant alternative festival scene, this article examines how traces of the... more Focussing on the UK’s vibrant alternative festival scene, this article examines how traces of the free party movement in the late 1980s continue to pervade the ethos and aesthetic register of contemporary events. It considers the potent DiY ethic of the campsite that emerged as a result of the convergence of Travellers with sounds systems such as Spiral Tribe, Exodus and Bedlam. It examines how the aesthetics and ethics of these rural, grassroots gatherings hark back to a particular moment in British history and how the sights, sounds and cultures of the current festival circuit are intimately connected to the histories from which they grew. The article argues for a reading of outdoor space, as experienced within the frame of the alternative festival, as a locale for the performance of political and personal freedoms. It asks how the cultural legacy of opposition through dancing outdoors serves as an expression of democratic culture and as spatial practice of belonging. The article makes explicit the links between alternative forms of democratic participation and sensations of individual and collective well-being that arise from outdoor dance experiences. Finally, it considers the role of rurality in constructing a festival imaginary that promotes participation, agency and connectivity.
Studies in Theatre and Performance, 2013
Popular music festivals are convivial spaces where paradigms of play and participation proliferat... more Popular music festivals are convivial spaces where paradigms of play and participation proliferate. `Exploring radical openness' investigates the concept of relational performance where encounter and dynamic exchange are prioritized. Drawing on extensive practice-led research conducted predominantly within the UK festival circuit, it provides a model for interactivity that not only acknowledges the inherent unpredictability of festival sites but also exploits it in the pursuit of inclusivity and radical openness.
Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, 2013
This article explores some of the challenges of conducting research associated with play within t... more This article explores some of the challenges of conducting research associated with play within the context of EDMCs, with particular reference to the complex social and spatial dynamics of popular music festivals. The essential premise is that clubbing can be conceived as a form of play and, as such, can offer access to the experience of flow. The article considers the epistemological complexities of the researcher's own immersion within the play event and adopts practice-based research methodologies developed in performance studies as a way of acknowledging and critiquing the significance of felt experiences and embodied knowledge. It considers the practical and ethical challenges of researching a phenomenon where intrusion is not only inconvenient and impractical but effectively collapses and destroys the very object of attention. The article introduces the concept of autoethnographic flow and argues that, whilst such immersion is often viewed with suspicion by other disciplines, it is particularly pertinent to EDMC scholarship as the research stance offered here intentionally embeds the researcher within the research context and uses this positioning as a key element of research design.
Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, Feb 19, 2013
This article outlines the activities of the research network ‘Festival Performance as a State of ... more This article outlines the activities of the research network ‘Festival Performance as a State of Encounter’, which was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of the Beyond Text strategic programme. The network was formulated in 2008, and a range of different events were organized over the course of two years to explore the concept of relational performance within the context of popular music festivals. One of the central aims of the network was to bring into dialogue scholars from a range of disciplines within the performing arts and creative industries and industry professionals and practitioners working on the festival circuit. The network provided a meeting place for industry–academy collaboration that prompted genuine exchange and knowledge transfer across sectors and challenged assumptions about the role and value of expertise and experience in relation to research processes. The article examines the notion of encounter and co-creation not only as a method of practice in festival performance but also as a methodology for facilitating fruitful conversation and dynamic interaction between stakeholders with a shared interest in understanding the deep impact of embodied participation in festival spaces.
Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 2012
Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, 2012
This article examines the interrelated concepts of space, play and performativity in relation to ... more This article examines the interrelated concepts of space, play and performativity in relation to the underground club scene in the UK. Grounded in the discipline of performance studies, this article uses the lens of play to identify how the spatial characteristics of underground dance culture provide a fertile terrain for performative acts of collectivity and expression. Resonating with previous EDMC scholarship that invokes concepts of liminality and the social dimensions of "spontaneous communitas", the physical and psychical dimensions of play will be considered. Applying Turner's work on subjunctivity (1982) and Jill Dolan's concept of "utopian performatives" (2005) in relation to the psytrance scene, the article positions the underground party as a playful arena, a spatial construct that offers a context for moments of individual and collective transformation that are expressed and experienced performatively.
International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, Jan 1, 2007
... The interior life of iPoi: Objects that entice witting transitions in performative behaviour ... more ... The interior life of iPoi: Objects that entice witting transitions in performative behaviour ... The poier was extremely keen to try the system in a nightclub and so we approached a local pub that hosted a weekly club night and they agreed to allow us to come in and perform with the ...
International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, Jan 1, 2007
Abstract This paper presents Emergent Objects 2, a portfolio of sub-projects funded by the EPSRC/... more Abstract This paper presents Emergent Objects 2, a portfolio of sub-projects funded by the EPSRC/AHRC 'Designing for the Twenty-first Century' (D4C21) initiative. Our focus is on the way interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration allows fluidity and responsiveness in ...
Ride-the Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, Jan 1, 1999
... ALICE BAYLISS Head of Performing Arts, Josiah Mason College, Slade Road, Erdington, Birmingha... more ... ALICE BAYLISS Head of Performing Arts, Josiah Mason College, Slade Road, Erdington, Birmingham B23 7JH ... but 'only playing' because it is transient, creative and engages theimagination more than the ... It is associated with art and religion (that is, neither serious nor real), ...
The inherent freedom of playful arenas combined with intimate ubiquitous technologies has led to ... more The inherent freedom of playful arenas combined with intimate ubiquitous technologies has led to a new breed of performance. We draw on theory from computing, performance and club culture to illustrate the Performance Triad model, a method for the analysis, deconstruction and understanding of performance in playful arenas.
International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, Jan 1, 2005
This article charts the design, development and build of an interactive performance piece created... more This article charts the design, development and build of an interactive performance piece created specifically for use in a club context. At the time of writing it remains work in progress but our aim here is to articulate our creative and research goals and unpack some of the issues surrounding creating hybridized work. The piece takes a traditional set of poi that clubbers often dance with in trance and techno clubs and attempts to augment them with sensor technology in order to allow the shapes, patterns and movements made by the participant to become visualized elsewhere in the club space. Choreographic motifs drawn from the participants' motion in space with the poi add a further layer to the performance, which seeks to set up physical conversations between the dancer, the space, the technology and the club context itself.
The inherent freedom of playful arenas combined with intimate ubiquitous technologies has led to ... more The inherent freedom of playful arenas combined with intimate ubiquitous technologies has led to a new breed of guerrilla performance. We draw on theory from computing, performance and club culture to illustrate the Performance Triad model, a method for the analysis, deconstruction and understanding of tripartite interaction in playful arenas. We then apply the Performance Triad model to Schizophrenic Cyborg a part reversal of wearable computing technology where the user is outfitted with an electronic communication display and yet this display is visible to others not the cyborgs themselves. This ubiquitous performance investigates the shifting boundaries between performer, participant and observer and of technology-enhanced guerrilla performance.