The Body’s Memory Archives in the Process of Generating an Aesthetic Movement and `Flow Experiences` for the Audience in the Production of the Performance tXc -TOXIC (after F. Richter’s play Rausch)

"The present enquiry is particularly interested in the performer’s body archiving memory while generating poetic movement on stage. The main site of investigation is a theatre-dance performance and the work engaged by the performers of tXc-TOXIC (after the Falk Richter’s play Rausch, an Insula Creative Hub production, directed by Cristian Grosu, choreographed and co-directed by me). The focal point of my argument is that, with proper and sustained body training, performers can easily incite and produce aesthetic movement after engaging the CI (contact improvisation) means of accessing movement and body memory. Keywords: (Non-toxic) body archives, aesthetic experience, embodiment, dance, performance "

Comparing the Interface pressure distribution of the full body chest-lumbar cushion made of memory cotton with the traditional chest cushion

Background Pressure injuries are common complications occurred duration hospitalization, whether the interface pressure distribution in full body memory cotton chest-lumbar cushion was superior than traditional chest cushion remains unclear. Purpose This study aimed to compare the effects that the full body memory cotton chest-lumbar cushion versus traditional chest cushion on interface pressure. Methods A total of 66 healthy individuals were recruited. The volunteers were placed in the left lateral position and left armpit and iliac spine pressure and level of comfort were measured. Group differences were assessed using the paired t-test or Wilcoxon test according to data distribution. Additionally, multivariate regression analysis was applied to determine the potential role of sex, age, and body mass index on left armpit and iliac spine pressure and overall comfort. Results Compared with the traditional chest cushion, we noted that the full body chest-lumbar cushion made of memory cotton was associated with less pressure on the left armpit (38.17 ± 10.39 mmHg vs. 67.93 ± 14.67 mmHg, respectively; P < 0.0001) and iliac spine (43.32 ± 13.70 mmHg vs. 50.77 ± 20.94 mmHg, respectively; P = 0.0004). Moreover, we noted that the overall comfort with the memory cotton chest-lumbar cushion was higher than that with the traditional chest cushion (8.48 ± 1.08 vs. 6.36 ± 1.45, respectively; P < 0.0001). Finally, the multivariate regression analyses found iliac spine pressure could affect by sex (P = 0.0377) and body mass index (P = 0.0380). Conclusions The full body chest-lumbar cushion made of memory cotton had beneficial effects on left armpit and iliac spine pressure and on comfort. These findings should be applied to future clinical practice.

Embodiment and Personal Identity in Dementia

Theories of personal identity in the tradition of John Locke emphasize the importance of psychological continuity and the abilities to think, to remember and to make rational choices as basic criteria for personhood. As a consequence, persons with severe dementia are threatened to lose the status of persons. Such concepts, however, are situated within a dualistic framework, in which the body is regarded as a mere vehicle of the brain as the organ of mental faculties. The chapter elaborates a different approach to personal identity: according to this, selfhood is primarily constituted by pre-reflective self-awareness and the body memory. Dementia is then characterized as a loss of reflexivity and meta-perspective, which is contrasted with the preservation of individual forms of body memory even in the later stages of the illness. The ethical consequences of such an embodied approach to dementia are outlined.

The Cyclical Time of the Body and the Linear Time of Modernity

While linear time results from the measurement of physical events, the temporality of life is characterized by cyclical processes, which also manifest themselves in bodily experience. This applies for the periodicity of heartbeat, respiration, sleep–wake cycle, or circadian hormone secretion, among others. Cyclical repetitions are also found in the recurring phases of need, drive, and satisfaction. Finally, the cyclical structure of bodily time manifests itself at an extended level in the form of body memory. However, this cyclical structure of lived time comes into tension with the orders of linear time which have been increasingly established in Western societies since the modern age. This tension creates both individual as well as societal conflicts and may also result in psychopathological phenomena such as depression and burn-out syndromes.

Performing while Black: Disrupting Gender and Sexuality from Trinidad to Norway—The Artivism of Thomas Prestø

In this interview, artistic director and choreographer Thomas Prestø speaks with cultural studies scholar Dr. Gladys M. Francis about his personal journey as a hyper visible Black boy growing up in a Norwegian region known as a hub for neo-Nazi groups. Subjected to various forms of torture, Prestø discusses how his experiences shaped his politics of arts when he founded the Tabanka Dance Company to promote “a sustainable Black identity” that converges both Caribbean and African movement esthetics to tell the stories of Blacks in Norway. Prestø presents how his body of work informs Black diaspora studies in terms of art and culture through issues of minority identities, body-memory, body-politics, and political and cultural agency relating to Black performances and cultures in Norway. He discusses principles on “Caribfuturism” and corporealities within what he calls “the uniqueness of the Afropean, the Afro-Scandinavian and the poly-Diasporan.” His insights on the prejudiced mechanisms of representation and segmentation of cultures visible in Norway also convey how his artistic productions offer challenging esthetics and representations of gender and sexuality for performing Brown and Black artists. The following segments were gathered during his 2018 dance fellowship in Dakar, Senegal, my scholar appointment in Norway in 2019, and follow up discussions in spring 2021.

Sight Beyond Sight: A Conceptual Exploration of the ‘Gaze’ in Facilitating Simulations

Background: This article connects disparate components in simulation. The central component is that facilitators manage simulations as learning contexts. The second concerns a perception of simulations as safe containers, implying the existence of impermeable barriers between simulation and dangers of reality. However, when stepping into the facilitation space, facilitators encounter a third component—the gaze. A concept from critical theory and psychoanalysis, this refers to acts of seeing and being seen, of/by themselves and others, and can engender heightened awareness as facilitators see themselves from the focal point of multiple lens, and within a container that may not be so impermeable. Aim: To increase understanding of simulation skills and development options for facilitators, we explore these components using: a) novice to expert progression; b) power relationships; and c) the body memory as key factors which may influence the intensity and direction of awareness. Method: A narrative-based analysis of literature examines instances where awareness of self, and/or others influences how facilitators operate within simulations. Results: Aware that simulations create uncertainties, facilitators may experience greater anxiety than those managing non-facilitation settings. They must navigate participants through emergent conditions wherein the unexpected can conspire to render safe containers permeable, and alter participants’ expectations. Increased understanding of the impact of gaze may enable facilitators to respond flexibly to unanticipated developments. Conclusions: Understanding the impacts of the gaze within and beyond a simulation may enable facilitators to prepare internally—and perform externally. A conceptual framework is developed to assist facilitators reflect and identify applications.