Abstract
Performative and embodied practices such as role-playing and enacting are used in Participatory Design (PD) to experience different perspectives. Inspired by choreography-informed participatory design, which maps the spatial, emotional, and relational dynamics of participation between the human and non-human, in this Situated Action (SA), participants are guided into a choreography based on a flocking algorithm. Flock algorithms simulate coordinated group movements, such as birds or fish, and are often employed in computer science applications. However, coded into software, these algorithms are removed from their embodied and experiential meaning. Building on our experience organising two “Drifting Bodies through Algorithms” workshops in Italy and Germany, we bring an embodied experience of co-existing into the realm of PDC26. We expect that this SA produces reflections on inclusion, collectivity, and collaboration, and prompts insights into embodied approaches in PD.