Utopia Embodied: Utopian Impulses in Choreographic Works by Diana Niepce and Agata Siniarska

This work is an attempt to search for and interpret ‘utopian impulses’ in Diana Niepce’s The Other Side of Dance and Agata Siniarska’s null & void, referring to Fredric Jameson’s ‘method of utopia’ and Jill Dolan’s concept of ‘utopian performatives.’ The author examines how bodies present on stage – whether with disabilities or attempting to embody the experiences of non-human beings – can become a space for the temporary realization of an alternative, utopian reality. The analysis of the functioning of individual performers’ bodies is grounded in Erika Fischer-Lichte’s theory of embodiment and Judith Butler’s concept of vulnerability. The theme of interspecies entanglements, within which choreographies are created and utopian impulses are born, is developed based on the posthumanist ideas of Karen Barad and Rosi Braidotti. Finally, based on Randy Martin’s thesis, the political action of experienced performances is reflected upon. The final considerations refer back to the concepts of Jameson and Dolan, emphasizing the possibility of the continuation as well as active influence of utopian impulses and performatives generated on stage and shared within the communal experience of ‘communitas.’