Screendance as a Question: All This Can Happen and the First Edition of the Light Moves Festival of Screendance

Abstract

This article aims to extend the idea that screendance is a set of dispositions and elements which can create a common practice for artists of various backgrounds. Instead of focusing on formal qualities and the type of works that may result from these, this review envisions screendance as a posture towards art making: a way of accessing new creative ideas, a way of looking at new and old artworks, a way of creating works, and a way of thinking. This review first provides an overview and assessment of the inaugural edition and curatorial framework of the Light Moves Festival of Screendance which took place in Limerick, Ireland in 2014 and which propels alternate ideas about screendance. This is followed by a critical review of Davies and Hinton’s film All This Can Happen (2013), in particular its approach to narrative and the construction of meaning, to expand on the discussion. The review closes with a statement in favor of independent and experimental approaches within this rich playground where dance, performance, digital media, visual arts, and cinema meet.