Abstract

Gaia - Mysterious Rhythms (1999, UK) is a dance-ritual performed by a young woman on the seashore. The dance unfolds a rite of passage and a process of transformation through the woman's interaction with the elements of the natural environment: the rhythms and features of the earth, sea, moon and sun.

In formal terms, Gaia was set out to explore the art form of screen choreography/screen-dance through a subtle, poetic and reflective interplay of images of the body and the environment. In terms of content, the woman's performance is perceived as a source of metaphoric and archetypal imagery that highlights the intricate relationship between body, psyche, and the world.

Watch the trailer:  https://vimeo.com/47706894?share=copy

In her talk, Lila will focus on the woman's rite of passage as a spiritual, healing and transformative journey inspired by ancient and contemporary mythopoetic images and themes, while honouring the lineage of visionary and ritualistic filmmaking, which was initiated by the 'high priestess' of the ritual-film, Maya Deren. 

Lila Moore's research on Dance on Screen completed in 2001 was the first practice-based PhD in the UK and worldwide on choreography for the screen, known today as screen dance, as an emerging and unique art form. Hence, it was the first in the field to include the researcher's artistic practice and lived experience. It was also the first to contextualise the art form in the broader context of modern and contemporary art, including performance art, experimental film, and cyberperformance.

Gaia – Mysterious Rhythms was selected by the IMZ, Dance Screen 99 Festival in Cologne, and the Dance on Camera Festival in New York (2000). The PhD thesis, including the film, was published and distributed by Artfilms/Contemporary Arts Media and will become available via The Bloomsbury Library Dance Collection in 2024.

About

Dr Lila Moore holds a practice-based PhD in Dance on Screen from Middlesex University (2001), UK, in the context of experimental film, dance, modern and contemporary art, multimedia and cyber performance with special reference to myth, ritual, women’s spirituality and movement therapy through imaginal images and archetypes. Her Postdoc at the Planetary Collegium of Plymouth University (2015) entitled The Cybernetic Futures Institute, explored networked-digital-interactive forms of performance and narrative, fields of noetic and compassionate consciousness, and the innovative formulation and intersection of advanced technologies, spirituality and technoetic aesthetics to counteract the dominant narrative of violence.  She is a lecturer and dissertation supervisor at the Alef Trust and leads the Option course Spirituality and the Imaginal as part of the Spiritual Psychology Module.

Dr Moore co-chairs the Spirituality and the Arts SIG of the International Network for the Study of Spirituality. She is a published author and parctising technoetic artist, screen-choreographer, and theorist. 

For more info, see her websites:  

https://www.cyberneticinstitute.com/

https://www.cyberneticfutures.com/ 

The video recording of the event will be available on our YouTube channel Spirituality and the Arts Special Interest Group 

Join our  Facebook Group called Spirituality and the Arts using this link. 

For more details, see https://spiritualitystudiesnetwork.org/Spirituality-and-the-Arts-SIG

The SIG Chairs: the Rev. Prof. June Boyce-Tillman, Dr Lila Moore, Annalisa Burello.