What if… is the second in a series of festivals looking at current choreographic trends initiated by Independent Dance. The first in the series What Now in 2009 presented work by emerging artists that responded to the architecture of the Siobhan Davies Studios in London as part of the Open House Weekend. What if... takes place throughout the Siobhan Davies Studios with affiliated talks in Brighton and is comprised of installed film and video works, film screenings and live performance. The festival responds to recent thinking about choreography as an expanded field - of the choreographic as something that can be separated from dance and that involves unique ways of thinking to do with structure and a sense of embodiment. The film and video works chosen, whether or not choreographic in their origin, intersect with these ideas as well as exploring shifts in perception, the nature of borders, performance strategies and an embodied sense of looking at the world. The live performance creates a space on the border of dance and live art and reflects the influence of image based technology on choreographic thinking. What if... is curious about the role of writing in relation to this field and has commissioned ten writers to respond to the works exhibited in the festival. Writers will be creating their responses during the festival itself, folding their responses into the proceedings with either performance or text-based presentations. Extending beyond London, What if… opens with two talks / screenings at Lighthouse in Brighton hosted by South East Dance. Lucy Cash, Becky Edmunds, Claudia Kappenberg and Chirstinn Whyte will offer insight into their choreographic and moving-image practices and the ideas that have motivated the festival.