Reframing Space in Networked Practice: A Chat from the Sewing Box

Since the beginning of the global pandemic, higher education institutions and artists all over the world have embraced distance learning and virtual meetings as more or less provisional solutions. In the case of eurhythmics education, everyday practice had to be adapted overnight – quite a challenge for a discipline based on body work, live music making and social collaboration. Almost one year into this situation, it is time for us to evaluate our experiences in networked eurhythmics practice, not as a lesser alternative to traditional (co-located) one, but as a highly expressive medium in its own right. In particular, we explore different ways to articulate the shared virtual space and reframe its limitations as available affordances for artistic expression. This article presents the preliminary results of the ongoing artistic research project “Social distancing” at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.