This exposition is part of the peer-reviewed article:
Østern, T. P., Reppen, C., O’Connell, S., & Daneberg, M. (2025). Choreographer/researcher/teacher: Developing a/r/tography as an approach to dance pedagogy at Stockholm University of the Arts in a professional learning community of teachers. Nordic Journal of Art & Research, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.7577/ar.5460
ARRIVING AT AN A/R/TOGRAPHIC COURSE FOR STAFF IN HIGHER EDUCATION
In the first report delivered to the Dean at that time, Beata Alving, on the outcomes of the 2021 change project, the project group proposed several possible models for the revised BA program (Reppen et al., 2021). A/r/tography was suggested as one such model. To explore this suggestion further, I was tasked with leading a series of exploratory workshops with the staff — to collaboratively investigate whether a/r/tography was a suitable approach for the BA program.
I subsequently designed and facilitated three a/r/tographic workshops for the dance pedagogy staff in May and June 2021. The design and delivery of these workshops gave me valuable experience in a/r/tographic facilitation and design, specifically in working with highly experienced dance artist-teachers in higher education. This experience also prepared me to serve as course coordinator for this group in the open course for staff, which we decided to develop as an outcome of the exploratory workshops.
THE FIRST WORKSHOP was designed to challenge the teachers — my colleagues — to articulate a/r/tographic questions they wished to explore, based on their own teaching practices.
THE SECOND WORKSHOP was built around an example of an a/r/tographic process connected to my own practice.
THE THIRD WORKSHOP centered on a discussion about how we could qualify ourselves as teachers within an a/r/tographic BA program. As a result of this third workshop, we decided to design an open course for staff, which would carry 7.5 ects. From that point on, the concrete design of the course began. At this point, Ylva Hofvander Trulsson was Dean.
