Camilo Soler Caicedo

Specialist in the Body, with a Multi-dimensional view from Dance, Anthropology, Cognition and the Creative Industries

Throughout my over 10 years experience as an anthropologist and dancer I have been able to reconcile theory and practice under a main theme: The body and embodiment of practice. As a dancer, I am devoted to the continuous exploration of, and experimentation with, popular dance forms, focusing on expression and emotionality beyond steps or technique. In my anthropological research, I have looked at the embodiment of tradition and art forms, the cognition and social use of emotions, and the interaction between the body and the market economy.

In my 1 year work in Cali with ex-gang member salsa dancers I combined participant observation with systematic coding and analysis of non-verbal behaviour - particularly facial expressions - to understand the role of dance in violence reduction. At the same time I trained to become a professional dancer in Salsa and Street Dance at Esfera Latina. I did not only became an engaged dancer, instructor and choreographer since, but won 6 prizes in both national and international competitions and acquired a unique interest on popular dances as a from of multi-dimensional embodied knowledge.
In my 6 months field work with the ONIC, I lived and worked together with 4 native American groups considered at risk of cultural extinction, documenting their traditional knowledge which existed almost solely in embodied form.

This project led to my MSc at LSE in Anthropology and Development, with emphasis in cognition. My dissertation there allowed me to notice the potential role of the body in combining tradition and creativity for the empowerment and development of groups in conditions of deprivation.
Subsequently, in my current PhD research, I am carrying out 6 months of observant participation as a dancer and 20 interviews to understand dance as a, historically constructed and socially transmitted, embodied richness capable of being transformed, exchanged and negotiated in the context of the Creative Industries.