Lucy Weir

10. What Moves Them: The Global History of Modern Dance

🔉 Listen in! Dr @lucygweir.bsky.social - What Moves Them - The Global History of Modern Dance - is episode 4 of series 2 of Artful Inquiry, the ECA research podcast.

Discover how migration, protest, and chance encounters shaped the language of movement.

open.spotify.com/episode/3ct8...

A collage of images representing each of the seminars, on a blue rectangle. Text reads History of Art Seminar Series 25/26

Our History of Art Research Seminars are back!

The first is on 18 Sep with Dr Kuang-Yi Ku, '2025 Spotlight Taiwan Project - Challenging Biomedical Paradigm through Art and Design'

Events are free & open to all, with a variety of in person/online/hybrid events: www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/history-o...

In very good company here - many thanks to James for this chat about my forthcoming global history of modern dance.

A glorious evening at Pacific Quay last night - I sneaked on to the final five minutes of Radio 4's Front Row to talk about Soviet ballet and Yuri Grigorovich's complex legacy. You can listen here:
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

We are disappointed but not surprised that Meta has used millions of pirated books to develop its AI systems.

As a matter of urgency, Meta needs to compensate the rightsholders of all the works it has been exploiting.

But what can authors do? Read here:
societyofauthors.org/2025/03/21/t...

I think the extra ears are a reference to Stelarc, but the stitched eyes/lips also crop up in Ch 6 of this book (which focuses on Pyotr Pavlensky). It looks like Cronenberg went for a smorgasbord of performance art reference points, which is no bad thing!

History of Art Research Seminar Series | Dr Lucy Weir Playing the Hard Man: André Stitt’s Confrontational Engagement with the Legacy of the Troubles

Tonight @edincollegeofart.bsky.social! Exploring the work of artist André Stitt and his persona of the 'hard man', an archetype used to interrogate feelings of guilt, complicity and posttraumatic suffering in the wake of the Troubles. 5.15pm, in person and online
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/history-of...

He's such a hero.

A crowd of people on a busy street corner. One is kneeling in front of another, who is wearing a suit. The crowd behind are looking on.

Join us for ‘Playing the Hard Man: André Stitt’s Confrontational Engagement with the Legacy of the Troubles’ with Dr Lucy Weir @lucygweir.bsky.social

5.15pm, Thursday 27 February, Hunter Lecture Theatre – free and open to all, in person and online:
www.eca.ed.ac.uk/event/playin...

I love this guy.

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Very much looking forward to sharing some of the details of my new book, a global history of modern dance, courtesy of
@rcsofficial.bsky.social
Exchange Talks next week.
Monday 24 Feb at 6pm (GMT), online and all welcome!
events.teams.microsoft.com/event/a0bd2f...

You must be very proud.

A yellow square graphic. In the lower left corner there is a circle of white dots, in a pattern similar to that seen on a loudspeaker. There's a UNESCO week of sound logo in the bottom right.

UNESCO Week of Sound – Concert – ‘Stolen voices and parameters for uncertainty’ @weekofsound.bsky.social

A concert of electroacoustic music and sound art from projects by the late Rebecca Collins.

7pm, Tue 18 Feb, West Court. Free and open to all. Book now: digital.eca.ed.ac.uk/weekofsound/...

Theatre Studies at University of Glasgow is launching a pilot, SCOTTISH THEATRE ARCHIVES PRACTITIONER RESIDENCY, offering a fee of £2000. Applications are invited from self-employed arts practitioners. Deadline 21 Feb. Full details in link.

www.gla.ac.uk/subjects/the...

‘People don’t want choreography – they want human beings’: Pina Bausch’s son on her legacy Salomon Bausch, head of the foundation set up in his mother’s name, talks about the enduring, visceral appeal of the dance pioneer’s work and preserving the sense of potential in her work

“Pina’s work is so accessible because you don’t really need to know anything; you can just experience it."
www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/f...

Bureaucratic hell = photographs of performances. Photographer's permission, artist's permission, sometimes the dancers' permission(s) 🫠

a man carrying a bag in a living room with a clock in the background ALT: a man carrying a bag in a living room with a clock in the background

Since submitting my book manuscript last month, I don't think I've ever sent so many emails every single day as I have while trying to source all the image permissions. At this rate, if I manage to label them correctly, it will be nothing short of a miracle.

It really brings home the vital role played by *human beings* in providing accurate, sensitive, thoughtful translation, something we should be thinking about as AI threatens to erase so many livelihoods and skillsets...

Sorina Chiper, the translator of my book on Pina Bausch, has written an article reflecting on the process, and it offers such an interesting insight into the linguistic and technical challenges she encountered:
www.feaa.uaic.ro/LSP/no5_2024...

#15 on the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social critical theory advent calendar is the brilliant @lucygweir.bsky.social discussing “Performance, Masculinity, and Self-Injury” newbooksnetwork.com/performance-...

Allen Lane to publish 'immersive' global history of modern dance by Weir Allen Lane has acquired academic and BBC New Generation Thinker Lucy Weir’s “immersive” history of modern dance.

Coming soon!
www.thebookseller.com/rights/allen...

2023 Annual Review Flipsnack is a digital catalog maker that makes it easy to create, publish and share html5 flipbooks. Upload a PDF or design from scratch flyers, magazines, books and more.

I've been incredibly fortunate to have the support of @leverhulme.bsky.social over the last 18 months as I've been working on my new book, a global history of modern dance. The Trust's annual report has some more information on the project, which you can read here: www.flipsnack.com/leverhulmetr...

Book cover for Teatrul-dans al Pinei BAUSCH. Pe urmele Tanztheater, the Romanian translation of Pina Bausch's Dance Theatre: Tracing the Evolution of Tanztheater

Meanwhile, a nice surprise this year was the Romanian translation of my 2018 book, Pina Bausch's Dance Theatre: editurajunimea.ro/produs/teatr...
(you can find the English edition here: edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-pina-ba...)

Weekend listening! Lucy Weir talks to @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about the fascinating 'Performance, Masculinity, and Self-Injury' newbooksnetwork.com/performance-...

It's been a busy 18 months while I've been on research leave, with many hours clocked up in front of a screen. My second book was published by Routledge in August - it was a real labour of love, and I'm so grateful to the artists who gave their time to talk to me:
www.routledge.com/Performance-...