Social Choreography: A practice of dancing toward liberation

Kim Miller, professor of Fine Art + New Studio Practice, returned to the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) following her sabbatical year with a Ph.D. and an innovative presentation and practice for students, faculty and staff.

“My sabbatical research – SOCIAL CHOREOGRAPHY – is informed by my studio practice as an artist, performer, director and choreographer,” says Miller.

Kim Miller, “Can I Hold Something”

During a sabbatical presentation, Miller explained, “Social choreography is (re)organization of bodies in space toward liberation. It means being available to anyone – one does not need to be invited in order to participate….

“Social choreography emerges and disappears – it is an event rather than activity. It is a practice – moving, fleeing, unstable, not fixed….”

Miller’s dissertation is entitled “Social and Political Thought & Practice: Combining performance studies, dance studies, Caribbean philosophy.” Her extensive research took her to “new places and new experiences and working with new and old friends,” she says.

“I was able to conduct a number of workshops across Europe and North America,” Miller says. “The tools and techniques I developed in these workshops are coming back into my classroom. I developed clear methods to structure vague intuitions and strengthened ways of thought into action.”

“I was able to be vulnerable, learn new things and challenge myself to be with the unknown,” says Miller of her 2024-25 sabbatical. “I know MIAD students have the courage to embrace the new, the scary, the formless, and to transform these challenges into productive action. I also want MIAD people to know and appreciate the community that surrounds them.”

Keep up with Miller on her website and learn more about MIAD’s Fine Art + New Studio Practice major.