Conferences / Annual Conference

Dancing in Common

August 8 – August 11, 2019
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL, United States

The Dance Studies Association is hosting its 2019 annual conference at Northwestern University August 8-11, located on the shore of Lake Michigan with a view of the Chicago skyline. We invite you to join us for papers, panels, roundtable discussions, lecture-demonstrations, movement workshops, dance works, and screendances that address the conference theme, “Dancing in Common.”

Dancing in Common Call for Proposals

What might it mean to speak about “the common” or “the commons” in relation to dancing bodies? How do long-standing ideas about the common good and common property inflect past and present practices? What opportunities might dance and its concomitant registers of embodied exchange and identity offer in solidarity to emancipator modes of sociality? Thinking about our different experiences and understandings of the commons, we gather in Chicago to reflect, move and create.

“Dancing in Common” meets on the campus of Northwestern University on the shore of Lake Michigan. The Hotel Orrington and other conference hotels are just a few blocks away in Evanston, near public transportation to downtown Chicago and airports. Film screenings, club outings, and performances at Links Hall complement the wide range of panels, workshops, and plenaries planned for DSA 2019.

Proposal submissions deadline has been extended from January 15, 2019 to January 28, 2019. Therefore, if you haven't done so already, please submit your proposals on or before 12Mid (CST) January 28 by clicking the link below. The online conference site is currently accepting proposals.

Abstracts for Proposals are to be submitted to http://proposals.dancestudiesassociation.org/openconf.php.

Conference details

registration

Please save the date! Early registration will open on February 6, 2019.

Commitee

Conference Chair

  • Melissa Blanco Borelli , Royal Holloway University of London
  • Kate Elswit, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
  • Susan Manning , Northwestern University

Program Coordinator

  • Lizzie Leopold

Program Committee

  • Anurima Banerji, UCLA
  • Sherril Dodds, Temple University
  • Imani K Johnson, University of California Riverside
  • Einav Katan-Schmid, Humboldt University of Berlin
  • Kareem Khubchandani, Tufts University
  • Lorenzo Perillo, University of Illinois at Chicago
  • Crystal Michelle Perkins
  • VK Preston, University of Toronto
  • Chiayi Seetoo
  • Arabella Stanger, University of Sussex

Local Arrangements Committee

  • Susan Manning
  • Lizzie Leopold
  • Rachel Russell
  • Danielle Ross
  • Amy Swanson
  • Mario LaMothe
  • Joel Valentin-Martinez
  • Amy Wilkinson
  • Jenai Cutcher West
  • Mlondi Zondi
  • Anna Martine Whitehead

Conference Contacts

Travel

Travel

Traveling from abroad:

Foreign Currency Exchange at O'Hare and Midway Airports (https://www.choosechicago.com/plan-your-trip/international-travel-information/foreign-currency-exchanges/)

Passport/Visa Requirements:

Certain international travelers may be eligible to travel to the US without a visa. Please visit state department website (below) for exact requirements. (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas.html)

Banks in Evanston (walk-able from hotel): Chase Bank, PNC Bank, First Bank & Trust, BMO Harris Bank, Citibank, First Northern Credit Union

Transportation

O’Hare International Airport is approximately one hour from Northwestern’s Evanston campus (depending on mode of transit). Midway International Airport is slightly farther and may take longer. Airport Express Shuttle is available from both locations (arrange ahead of time, https://www.airportexpress.com). Uber and Lyft are also available. Suburban taxi cabs are available (American Taxi) by calling (847-673-1000) or using the iOS app once you have landed at the airport. Average fare is $50-$60.

PUBLIC TRANSIT FROM O’HARE:


Lodging

Orrington/Evanston Hotel is centrally located in the heart of downtown Evanston. It is walking distance to more than 50 restaurants and shops, with fitness center and two restaurants right on site and walking distance from a multiplex movie theater. It is also located just 11 miles from downtown Chicago and besides beautiful Lake Michigan.

A room block has been reserved for August 6-August 10, 2019 at the Hilton Orrington Hotel in Evanston. A special room rate is being offered at $129/night and can sleep from one to four persons for the same rate. This special rate will be available until July 8, 2019. Please click on the link below to visit the hotel site for quick and easy reservations!  

Hilton Orrington Hotel, Evanston 
CODE: DSA19 

Space is available through July 8, 2019 or until the group block is sold out. So book your room today!

All Bodies Welcome

All Bodies Welcome

The Hotel Orrington, where the plenaries and awards luncheon will be held, is fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. So too are the Northwestern University buildings, where breakout sessions will be held, and Links Hall, the off-campus performance venue. Walking time from the hotel to the university is 5 to 10 minutes on level sidewalks. Ride shares from the hotel to campus are readily available; guest parking on campus is another option.

All Genders Welcome

Participants may choose to have their preferred gender pronouns on their conference badge by filling in the optional box on the registration form. Gender-neutral bathrooms on campus will be marked on the map in the conference program. EXPLODE!—a series of performances and events on- and off campus co-curated by Clare Croft and Anna Martine Whitehead—will queer the conference space as a whole.

All Children Welcome

Although neither DSA nor Northwestern is licensed to provide daycare, parents and guardians may bring their children to the conference. Children who can quietly read or watch a video are welcome at all sessions, as are nursing infants. (Spaces that can serve as lactation rooms will be marked on campus map in conference program.) Local daycare centers may be able to provide drop-in care if arranged in advance. (Bright Horizons Evanston is down the block from the Hotel Orrington; the McGaw YMCA and Evanston KinderCare are a short ride away). Babysitters can be found through Care.com, UrbanSitter, and SitterCity.

There are abundant family-friendly options in the area. Near the conference hotel and university are playgrounds and the beach. Further afield are the Children’s Museum at Navy Pier, the Bean at Millennium Park, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Museum of Natural History, Adler Planetarium, and Shedd Aquarium. The Chicago Architecture Foundation offers boat and walking tours, and the Chicago Art Institute offers family tours and a space for making art. The Cubs are out of town, but you can catch the White Sox Friday through Sunday of the conference weekend.

All Nationalities Welcome

DSA believes in international exchange and is committed to holding regular meetings outside the US. In 2018 we met in Malta and in 2020 we will meet in Taipei. For non-US citizens who require a visa to the US for 2019, the acceptance letter to the conference should be sufficient documentation. If you encounter obstacles, please contact our administrative office at info@dancestudiesassociation.org.

Evanston and Chicago

DSA/MELLON PRE-CONFERENCE SEMINAR