Claire Vionnet

Claire Vionnet is an Assistant Professor (Research) at the Research Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE), specializing in the intersection of Social Anthropology and Dance Studies. Her work examines choreographic practices, gender dynamics in contact improvisation, and the politics of Otherness in contemporary dance. She holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Lausanne (2018) and conducted postdoctoral research in Montreal, Paris, and Dakar.

Education:

• PhD in Social Sciences, University of Lausanne (2013–2017)
• MA in Social Sciences, University of Lausanne (2010–2011)

Research interests focus on the phenomenology of gesture, intimacy in dance, and transcultural ethnography. Her forthcoming book Dancing Intimacies explores touch, vulnerability, and exposure in contemporary performance. Current projects include Politics of Otherness in Contemporary Concert Dance, analyzing racialized perceptions of dancers under the 'white gaze.'

Awards:

• 2024 Fellowship for Politics of Otherness
• 2020 Fellowship for An Anthropology of Intimacy
• 2018 Fellowship for In the Intimacy of the Dancing Body
• 2013 Fellowship for Choreographers' Imaginaries

She leads socially engaged projects addressing critical whiteness in education and integrates dance practice with anthropological theory to foster social transformation. Her work bridges academia and public engagement, emphasizing global North-South dialogues.