TEXDANCE is a project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (Individual Fellowship – grant agreement ID 839799). It is hosted by the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, in partnership with the University of Oxford, UK.

The project is coordinated by Audrey Gouy. It was inaugurated on 1st September 2019 and is due to be concluded on 31st August 2021.

Necropolis of Tarquinia, Tomb of the Jugglers, detail right wall

Project summary

The aim of TEXDANCE is to explore Etruscan dance through textiles from 8th to 5th centuries BC. It will use the visual sources to analyse Etruscan society and its élite’s ritual practices in a multidisciplinary approach. This study will make us understand the movements of dance, their ritual functions, their diversity, their performativity and the social relations which intertwine.

TEXDANCE has seven objectives:

  • The types of dress and textiles used in dance
  • Dress motion
  • The acoustics of textiles
  • Etruscan fashion and dress identity
  • Etruscan community organisation
  • Ritual textiles making
  • The visuality of textiles

The project combines three types of sources: primarily the iconographic representations as they constitute the most important documentation for Etruria, literary sources and archaeological evidence.

The comparative and interdisciplinary approach includes the history of dance, rituals and religion, performance studies, ethnoarchaeology, archaeoacoustics, sensory studies, motor praxeology, and visual studies. The application of new digital technologies is a crucial aspect with the opportunity to 3D model how cloths move in dance. Digital humanities will also play a fundamental role in the presentation and diffusion of the results that will be made fully accessible to the scientific community and the general public.

The CfP on TEXTILES IN MOTION. DRESS FOR DANCE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD to be published with ATS Oxbow is now also online on TEXDANCE's website! See https://t.co/jNoN2EoFGS https://t.co/vCalRkVvdb
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Call for Papers 👏👏 on TEXTILES IN MOTION. DRESS FOR DANCE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD (to be published in ATS, Oxbow) #textiles #dance #ancientworld @OxbowBooks https://t.co/y1fM4CgSFs
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Today’s conference on The Sound of Dress in Etruscan Dance is now online on TEXDANCE website and on TEXDANCE’s Youtube Channel! Watch at https://t.co/jZCnNvQZqP and https://t.co/WvpOJxBDgy
#etruscandance #adornment #textiles #CTR #ancientsound #sensorytextiles #texdance
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The Sound of Dress in Etruscan Dance. Online conference on 24.06.2020. Video on https://t.co/r1GQUxbQec soon after the event or contact us to attend! https://t.co/dhxPH1HFIG
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TEXDANCE's brand new website! Many news, results & events to come! Visit at https://t.co/r1GQUxbQec https://t.co/WDxodYKz4J
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