Open Call: The Body of Attention – Choreographic Encounters Laboratory
Dansateliers and choreographer Amparo González Sola invite choreographers to apply for the first edition of the Choreographic Encounters Laboratory. This edition will explore choreographic procedures and strategies of attention in a peer-to-peer environment.
The Body of Attention
30 November – 7 December 2026
Dansateliers, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Nowadays, we are affected by the competition for our attention, navigating the dispersed and at the same time polyphonic offerings both in the physical and digital space. Art has become a space to resist this force. Choreographer Amparo González Sola creates spaces of presence and attention through her performances, proposing the practice of reciprocal attention between the audience and the performer/performance body.
In this Choreographic Encounter Laboratory, Amparo invites two fellow artists to dive into the layers of the body of attention in relation to their own choreographic work. What conditions for attention do they propose in their work? What kind of attention is the audience invited to practice? How do they approach the body in relation to different modalities of attention? This laboratory is an invitation to reflect on choreographic practices from the perspective of choreographic and somatic procedures, regardless of the poetics or aesthetics participants work with.
The laboratory provides space for shared practice and a structured programme of eight days, tailored to the questions of the participating artists. The encounter is hosted by Dansateliers and facilitated by its artistic director and a movement facilitator/dramaturg.
“The world will be saved by attention, not by will.”
Amparo:
“I think attention is at the heart of choreography. It is related to proprioception (the perception of one’s own body), to gaze, listening, touch, the relation to time, and so on. In this sense, I have been thinking a lot about how attention works in my own practice: what variations or modes of attention do I invite the audience to practice? What do I pay attention to in the rehearsal space? In my own body? What are the ecologies of attention that produce and emerge from my work? In this laboratory I would like to put these questions forward.
Some time ago, I read this quote by Simone Weil, ‘The world will be saved by attention, not by will,’ and it has stayed with me ever since. Personally, I believe that our attention is a force capable of disrupting the status quo, pushing the boundaries of what deserves to be noticed and what can be listened to. When I speak of attention, I do not necessarily mean focus or concentration (that is one form of attention, but not the only one). When I speak of attention, I am talking about a state of presence and the different ways of engaging with the present.”
Laboratory
The Choreographic Encounters Laboratory creates a framework to approach the body of attention through sharing practices and challenging our choreographic tools and artistic processes together. The participating artists bring a practice, movement material or choreographic procedure that they would like to explore further in this context.
The eight-day programme will be developed by Dansateliers in collaboration with Amparo and will take into account the specific questions and needs of the invited artists. The laboratory does not need to result in a presentation, but the encounter will be documented.
About Amparo González Sola
Amparo González Sola (she/her, ARG) is an Argentinian choreographer based in the Netherlands. Through her artistic practice she invites people to slow down and engage in reciprocal attention. The themes in her work arise from embodied questioning and intuitions relating to political and social urgencies that can be felt within and between bodies.
Creating works for both theatre and alternative spaces, as well as participatory projects that bring together people from various backgrounds and generations, Amparo invites people to be present with urgent questions while embracing opacity and uncertainty as spaces of empowerment.
Amparo is an Associate Artist with Dansateliers, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2025–2028). She completed the DAS Choreography Master’s programme (AHK, 2022) and the Programme for Choreographers Édition Spéciale (CND Paris, 2019). Her works While Taking Shape (2025), The Conspiracy of Forms (2023) and If Every Rock Is a Hole (2022) all premiered at SPRING Performing Arts Festival in Utrecht, The Netherlands. In 2025 she created Gestures as Portals, a durational and site-responsive performance.
She further developed the participatory project Exploring Reciprocity with Residenties in Utrecht (since 2019) and is a member of the Cultural Common Lab (Utrecht). She regularly collaborates with other artists, researchers and activists.
Website: www.amparogonzalezsola.com
About Dansateliers
Dansateliers is an independent house for the development of contemporary dance cultures in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. We support and provide space for dance artists who want to make a positive contribution to a more inclusive, open and multi-voiced society while shaping sustainable artistic careers.
Dansateliers works locally and connects across borders. We support artists in the in-between: researching, building and exchanging knowledge, experimenting and testing, and connecting with and building communities. We aim to impact not only artists’ development, but also their audiences and arts policy.
Since 2021, Dansateliers has taken responsibility for supporting three Associate Artists, recognising that artists on their way towards mid-career are vulnerable within the current Dutch cultural infrastructure and often lack the continuity and resources needed to stand on their own feet. In the Culture Plan 2025–2028, we support Andreas Hannes, Marta & Kim, and Amparo González Sola.
Dansateliers is funded by the City of Rotterdam and the Performing Arts Fund NL for the period 2025–2028. We are a member of Aerowaves and the European Dance Development Network.
Practicalities
Dates: 30 November – 7 December 2026
Location: Dansateliers, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Availability: Artists must be available for the full duration of the laboratory.
Application deadline: 15 September 2026
Selection will be made by:
The artistic director of Dansateliers Lisa Reinheimer (in collaboration with community employee Fyn van Ast) and Amparo González Sola.
Selection communicated: in the week of the 5th of October
What we cover
• Shared accommodation with the other artists (private bedroom)
• Travel costs in The Netherlands: public transport to and from Rotterdam will be covered.
• EU: up to €400 for travel to and from Rotterdam. We encourage travelling by train.
• Artist fee including per diem
We are looking for
• 1 artist residing in Europe
• 1 artist residing in The Netherlands
Who can apply?
The application is open to artists with a grounded artistic movement practice and an established body of work. Artists are interested in choreographic procedures, tools and audience strategies in relation to their own work. They have experience with peer-to-peer feedback and are interested in and comfortable with sharing their practice and work with others.
Please note:
We are open to artists with specific access needs. The Dansateliers building is currently not wheelchair accessible. Participants need to be able to climb stairs to reach the studios.
How to apply?
Send:
• A short bio and CV including your works and video references.
• A motivation explaining why you are interested in participating and what you would like to share with and contribute to the group. Please keep it concise. Possible formats: letter, video or audio.
Send your application to:
info@dansateliers.nl
If you have any questions:
Please email:
info@dansateliers.nl
