Ethico-political insurgencies in dance and somatics: where is the “pelvis”?

Abstract

This text derives from a bi-autorial writing, anchored in situated knowledges
(Haraway, 2009), written in the first person and experienced in the Somatic Epistemologies
course taught by Professor Diego Pizarro (IFB) from August to November 2023 at UFBA.
From these experiences, the authors address the necessity of considering body diversity,
including disabled bodies, in artistic practices, questioning compulsory bipedalism (Carmo,
2019) and referencing other disabled artists from Brazil. The pelvis is highlighted as an
episteme that promotes the subversion of logics and silencing that culturally impact bodies.
The description of pedagogical and artistic practices, such as those on the Pelvika platform,
underscores the importance of creating spaces for exchange and discussion around pelvic
knowledges and the diversity of corporealities. The discussion extends to the need to rethink
verticality standards in dance and somatics, considering the diversity of bodies and
movements. The use of somatic maps as a research and creation tool is presented as a way to
recognize and embody experiential knowledge. The urgency to rethink metaphors and
vocabularies to truly include diverse bodies and subvert normative and exclusionary
structures is emphasized. The pressing need to reevaluate metaphors and terminologies
experienced in dance practices emerges from the conclusion that the attention and presence of
diverse bodies are essential for subverting normative and discriminatory structures.