The Master’s of Fine Arts in Choreographing Live Art is an intensive, high-level postgraduate programme in Contemporary Performance Practice. The total amount of credits for the completion of the MFA is 240 (MFA Route). Alternatively, students can exit with 60 credits less and receive a regular MA in Choreographing Live Art (MA Route).
Content
The programme offers students the opportunity to acquire an advanced knowledge of theories and practices around the Body in Performance, while at the same time challenges them to engage physically in the development of the body performance in the 21st century. For more information please visit the list of modules.
At the heart of the programme lies the unique combination of contemporary performance practice and cutting-edge somatic investigations where the body is prioritized as the subject, tool and material of the performance event. Informed by critical theory and the latest developments within Live Art, this course locates Choreographing the Body next to Live Art and aims to interrogate their precarious and recently emerging relationship.
Students pursue a rigorous line of contextualization and development of their own practice in order to advance body practices and Live Art. The students engage in critical frameworks of both a practical and theoretical nature in order to digitally archive their practices. By the end of their course the students will have developed a portfolio of project that advance notions and practices of the Body and the making of Live Art.
Who is it for?
The programme is specifically tailored and designed for performance practitioners, or professionals with extensive experience and sufficient knowledge of live art, performance practice, choreography, somatic or body practices, or who hold an equivalent degree with sufficient professional experience in the field. The program attracts candidates with advanced level of practice and experience and therefore offers a
vocational, rigorous, intensive residential teaching which facilitates the demands for learning and development for people working in the field. As a result, the programme caters for those already working as independent and responsible artist researchers and wishing to advance further and more rigorously their career in Performance Art, Live Art, Conceptual Choreography, Experimental Dance, Visual Art and Somatic and Body Practices, or pursuing a career in academia. For those interested, the programme may serve to further engage in an academic career and prepare a PhD.
Mode of Delivery
The programme is organized in intensive weekly blocks of studio investigations, workshops, lectures and mentoring sessions. The purpose and benefits of the intensive weekly blocks is threefold: (a) to provide the experience of learning and working in conditions similar to artistic residencies, (b) to facilitate a more concentrated and focused learning environment, and (c) to facilitate participation in the program of those artists and practitioners who cannot physically attend lecturers and seminars on a weekly basis due to their work and life outside Lincoln.
Visiting Artists
The School of Performing Arts is leading in the field of Live Art and Choreography in the UK. In addition to contact hours with academic staff, students have the opportunity to work with international artists and local organizations. In recent years the University of Lincoln (Performing Arts School) has hosted a wide range of high-profile artists, including Ron Athey, Stelarc, Kira O’Reilly, Marten Spangberg and many others. The course may also include residential work abroad.