Walking like a dancer
This week I was lucky enough to see Pina Bausch’s Vollmond (Full Moon). Bausch’s extraordinary dance work got me thinking about the relationship between dance and walking. Bausch’s dancers stomp, saunter, stride and bound across a moonlit stage, exploring themes of love and trauma, while illustrating how everyday human actions can be imbued with meaning and artistry.
Walking is a fundamental human movement which exists on a spectrum between pure function and expressive art. We walk to get from point A to point B, yet within this everyday action lies the potential for transformation. Walking art, like a dancer's steps, explores this potential. It's not simply walking about something, but walking as something – a meditation, a protest, a performance, a dialogue with the places around us. It helps us see our bodies differently, and through our bodies, it helps us see the world differently.
This month we’ve been focusing on a particular type of walking art – walking sculpture. If you follow us on social media, you will have seen our spotlight on the wonderful array of ‘statues’ that capture walkers in the act of walking, from flickering digital displays to walkers through walls.
And while we’re on the topic of the intersection between walking and other arts, this month, we're excited to welcome author Tim Parks to our Walking Writer’s Salon, The Writer's Path, 25th February.
Accomplished author Parks offers insights into walking as both tool and inspiration for writing. He'll discuss how his walks helped shape his latest novel, Mr Geography, about a retired teacher retracing a past love affair through both literal and emotional landscapes. Parks will also share how he crafted his travel memoir, The Hero’s Way, which recounts a walk with his wife through the Apennine mountains, following the escape route of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi. Don't miss it!
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Writer, walker, digital storyteller, psychogeographer
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Placecloud
Researchers use Placecloud to mark sites of significance with short podcasts.
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25 Feb, 2025 · 19:00 UTC
· Online
7pm GMT Tuesday 25 February How do master storytellers approach the act of walking in their writing? What are the subtle yet important differences between crafting a non-fiction travelogue and weaving walking into a fictional narrative? Our upcoming Walking Writers Salon delves into these questions. Our featured guest,... Keep reading
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S o Tom S o Tom and Pr ncipe Um dos primeiros piratas documentados a usar uma perna de pau foi Cornelis Jol. Tecnicamente, ele era um almirante da Companhia Holande... Start listening
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S o Tom S o Tom and Pr ncipe Een van de eerste piraten die een houten been had, en waarvan we het weten, was Cornelis Jol. Op papier was Jol een admiraal in de West... Start listening
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Bartica Guyana Jan van der Goes foi um dos comandantes enviados pela câmara da Zelândia para a colônia de Isekepe, ou Essequibo, onde governou por cerca de 12 anos ... Start listening
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Bartica Guyana Jan van der Goes was een van de bevelhebbers die door de Zeeuwse kamer van de West-Indische Compagnie naar de kolonie Isekepe, of Essequibo, was gest... Start listening
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Bartica Guyana Jan van der Goes was one of the commanders sent by the Zeeland chamber of the West India Company to the colony of Isekepe, or Essequibo, which he gov... Start listening
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Upcoming events
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22 Feb, 2025 · 11:00 UTC
· West Burrafirth, Shetland, UK
Shetland Terminalia – Walking between Cairns. Saturday Feb 22nd, 11am. Meet at carpark behind the bus stop at the West Burrafirth turning, opposite Loch of Murraste... Keep reading
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23 Feb, 2025 · 15:00 UTC
· Marble Arch Underground Station, Marble Arch Underground Station Underground Ltd, Oxford Street, London, UK
A synchronised city walk in Boston (US) and London (UK). Keep reading
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23 Feb, 2025 · 15:00 UTC
· Park Street MBTA Station, Boston, MA, USA
A synchronised city walk in Boston (US) and London (UK). Keep reading
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25 Feb, 2025 · 19:00 UTC
· Online
7pm GMT Tuesday 25 February How do master storytellers approach the act of walking in their writing? What are the subtle yet important differences between crafting ... Keep reading
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From our network
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I’ve deleted my twitter account. Why? Ought to be obvious – The extreme-right owner and the wannabe dictator. Felt increasingly uncomfortable clinging on for some m... Keep reading
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I often meant for the title of this blog, Walking Off the Big Apple. to occasionally refer to the times when we want to get away from New York City.Over on Birds of... Keep reading
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LSA President Tim Jones talked to Stuff about pedestrian safety this weekend. There have been five pedestrians killed in motor vehicle crashes so far this year.From... Keep reading
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WALC
Walking Arts & Local Communities (WALC) is an artistic cooperation project, co-funded by the European Union, Creative Europe, starting in January 2024 for four years. With seven partners from five countries, WALC establishes an International Center for Artistic Research and Practice of Walking Arts, in Prespa, Greece, at the border with Albania and North Macedonia, backed up by an online counterpart in the format of a digital platform for walking arts.
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