From Story to State: Embodied Listening in an Age of Noise
This talk explores story as a lived condition rather than a narrative form, and artistic practice as a way of remaining aligned with life itself. Drawing inspiration from ancestral and traditional ways of knowing—where listening, attention, and continuity are central—it reflects on how stories are encountered, embodied, and lived, particularly in contexts shaped by movement, transition, and migration. The talk considers listening as a foundational condition for understanding experience, meaning, and action in an age of constant noise.
Short bio
Sashar Zarif is a transdisciplinary artist–scholar originally from Azerbaijan whose practice explores embodied listening, movement, and lived experience. He is the founder of Living Stories, an approach that brings together movement, sound, and attentive presence as ways of staying close to life as it unfolds. His work spans creation, performance, research, education, and mentorship, shaped by more than three decades of practice across more than forty countries. He is the recipient of the 2025 Selma Jeanne Cohen Dance Lecture Award presented by the Fulbright Association.