Circle of Chairs
Circle of Chairs is a digital folk dance for twelve people. All that is required is a phone or audio device with headphones and a willingness to follow movement instructions.
Circle of Chairs for On Being X CoGenerate
Through Artists & Elders, For You was selected for the 2020 cohort of CoGenerate Innovation Fellows—a fellowship committed to bridging generational divides. In 2023, CoGenerate and On Being—the organization behind the esteemed podcast On Being with Krista Tippett—chose For You’s audio-driven folk dance, Circle of Chairs, for their Cogenerational Social Healing digital toolkit.
CIRCLE OF CHAIRS: INSTRUCTIONS
Length of Recording: 12 minutes
Required Materials: 12 people; 12 chairs; 12 phones or audio devices with headphones; Wi-fi; and a space to gather. Circle of Chairs is instructed in English. It can be performed anywhere large enough to contain it, with any 12 chairs, by any 12 individuals who can move with their hands free.
Step 1: Set chairs in a circle facing inward, evenly spaced with about 1ft between them.
Step 2: Assign each chair a number 1-12.
Step 3: Assign each person a number 1-12.
Step 4: Find the audio tack that corresponds to your number (scroll down for tracks).
Step 5: When all 12 audio tracks are ready to play, assign a caller to say “Go.” Put your headphones on. Stand directly in front of your chair facing the center of the circle. When the caller sees that everyone is ready they countdown, “3-2-1 Go!” and everyone presses play at the same time.
Step 6: Place your phone or audio device somewhere on your body to keep your hands free.
Step 7: Listen and follow the instructions.
Helpful Notes: After you press play, we suggest placing your phone or audio device on the front of your body so you don’t sit on it. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get started at the same time. Follow the rules as strictly as possible. If you get off, you may be able to sync back up by adjusting your timecode to the rest of the group.
CIRCLE OF CHAIRS: AUDIO TRACKS
“Circle of Chairs is a timely intervention in a moment characterized by estrangement, suspicion, borders, and scarcity. A performance where everyone has something to give, this dance is about the “forces that move us” out of our enclosures and into engagement. Encountering strangers can unleash anxiety and distrust; Circle of Chairs provides a structure for turning that experience into connection, movement, and delight. We want to embody what it is like to arouse generosity, to provoke joy, to risk intimacy. ”