Type: Presentation
Date: 5 May 2026
Context: II International Scientific and Practical Conference “Personality as a Space for Challenge and Formation of Culture”
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine
Institution / Organisation: National University of Physical Education and Sport of Ukraine (NUPESU)
Role: Presenter
Status: Conference Abstract / Public Record
Embodied Personality in the National Cultural Space This presentation examines how embodied personality functions as a national cultural space in which values, memories, and artistic genealogies are formed and transmitted. Drawing on my practice as a dance artist and oral historian, I consider how verbal historical records can emerge from non-logocentric, embodied processes, and how such approaches reveal relationships between subjectivity, social environments, and cultural memory.
Abstract
This presentation examines how embodied personality functions as a national cultural space in which values, memories, and artistic genealogies are formed and transmitted. Drawing on my dual practice as dance artist and oral historian, I develop verbal historical records from non‑logocentric, embodied processes. These anti‑biographies reveal how subjectivity emerges within social, political, and aesthetic environments, and how cultural values sediment in the body. Building on this methodological foundation, I report on the workshop Oral History for Dance Heritage held at NAMU, the National Art Museum of Ukraine, in December 2025. The workshop explored strategies for articulating immaterial dance heritage, mapping embodied lineages, and documenting tacit knowledge. I analyze the perspectives of participating artists, educators, and institutions, and outline the need for sustainable infrastructures—including digital metadata platforms and specialized training—to support the cartography and transmission of dance heritage.
Research
The presentation builds on my ongoing research into dance heritage, Oral History, embodied knowledge, and the ways in which immaterial cultural practices are remembered and transmitted. It also develops questions arising from the workshop Oral History for Dance Heritage, held at the National Art Museum of Ukraine in December 2025.
The workshop brought together questions of documenting immaterial dance heritage, recognizing embodied lineages, and finding ways to articulate knowledge that may not readily enter conventional archival forms. The presentation considers these questions in relation to the cultural space of Ukraine and to the wider challenge of sustaining dance heritage across generations.
Contribution / Ertrag
This contribution connects artistic practice, Oral History, and heritage research, proposing attention to embodied knowledge as an important dimension of cultural memory. It points toward the need for sustainable infrastructures through which dance heritage can be documented, mapped, and transmitted while remaining connected to the people and practices from which it emerges.
Assessment / Relevanz
The presentation extends my ongoing investigation into the relationship between dance, memory, archives, and cultural transmission. It also marks a further development of my work on Activating Archives and on the conditions through which embodied knowledge may enter contemporary cultural and educational practice.
Keywords
embodied personality; national cultural space; dance heritage; Oral History; embodied knowledge; cultural memory; non-logocentric knowledge; artistic genealogies; archives; heritage transmission; Activating Archives
Post Scriptum — 2 September 2026
This public record is intentionally concise. The more extensive paper, including detailed argumentation, methodological development, working notes, and source interpretations, is retained separately as protected working material.
External Links
Oral History for Dance Heritage — ICFITP
Ukrainian Crisis Media Center — Press Conference Video
Internal Links
Oral History for Dance Heritage
Kyiv Press Conference
Journey to Kyiv
The Injustice of Being Silenced
Archival Note: This page forms part of an ongoing personal archive documenting Ricardo Viviani’s professional work and activities over more than four decades. Names and other personal information appear where relevant to the documented work or collaboration. If you believe that information concerning you has been published incorrectly or should be reconsidered, please contact me.