Witchcraft as Choreographic Practice – a blog by Charlie Ashwell

– Witchcraft as the practice of magic, whatever that means, by whoever and for whatever reason

– Witchcraft as the capacity to entertain several truths at once

– Witchcraft as holding things in relation

– Witchcraft as resisting the need to resolve, complete or integrate

– Witchcraft as the creation of, revelling in and tinkering around with contradictions

– Witchcraft as a dance of and with contradictions

– Witchcraft as tickling and being tickled by the bringing together of unlikely bedfellows

– Witchcraft as simultaneity

– Witchcraft as something else entirely

– Witchcraft as something else + something else + something else (entirely)

– Witchcraft as oscillation, flickering, glittering, shimmering, glitching, wobbling, faltering, faking, botching, matching, tinkering, corresponding, holding and smashing things together, with glee

– Witchcraft as the suspension of both absolute belief and absolute disbelief

– Witchcraft as wearing black, or whatever

– Witchcraft as creative duplicity

– Witchcraft as ‘that’ll do’

– Witchcraft as following instructions to the letter, or not

– Witchcraft as creating instructions to be followed, or not

– Witchcraft as the embrace of the makeshift

– Witchcraft as the intermittent, imperfect or incomplete transmission of signals

– Witchcraft as the active, specific, and temporary suspension of goal-oriented activity, in order for other kinds of activity to show themselves

– Witchcraft as the creation of conditions to access certain kinds of limitlessness

– Witchcraft as a choreographic practice

Banishing Dance by Charlie Ashwell

The Wellcome Collection
Part of Splayed Festival, curated by Amy Bell & The Place

Thursday 7th June, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm & 8pm – More Information

Charlie Ashwell is a dance witch. She wants to let go of stuff with you. Ditch things. Dump things. Cast things off. Banishing Dance is a cross between a ritual, a participatory performance and a dance.

It is an invitation to speculate on gender, power and the magical potential of turning our attention to the seemingly impossible.