Showing papers on "Modern dance published in 2012"
1 Jun 2012
TL;DR: The Meaning in Motion as discussed by the authors is a survey of dance and cultural studies, focusing on the ideological, theoretical, and social meanings of dance practices, performances, and institutions, as well as how these meanings change as dance styles cross borders of race, nationality or class.
Abstract: Dance, whether considered as an art form or embodied social practice, as product or process, is a prime subject for cultural analysis. Yet only recently have studies of dance become concerned with the ideological, theoretical, and social meanings of dance practices, performances, and institutions. In Meaning in Motion , Jane C. Desmond brings together the work of critics who have ventured into the boundaries between dance and cultural studies, and thus maps a little-known and rarely explored critical site.
Writing from a broad range of perspectives, contributors from disciplines as varied as art history and anthropology, dance history and political science, philosophy and women’s studies chart the questions and challenges that mark this site. How does dance enact or rework social categories of identity? How do meanings change as dance styles cross borders of race, nationality, or class? How do we talk about materiality and motion, sensation and expressivity, kinesthetics and ideology? The authors engage these issues in a variety of contexts: from popular social dances to the experimentation of the avant-garde; from nineteenth-century ballet and contemporary Afro-Brazilian Carnival dance to hip hop, the dance hall, and film; from the nationalist politics of folk dances to the feminist philosophies of modern dance. Giving definition to a new field of study, Meaning in Motion broadens the scope of dance analysis and extends to cultural studies new ways of approaching matters of embodiment, identity, and representation.
Contributors. Ann Cooper Albright, Evan Alderson, Norman Bryson, Cynthia Cohen Bull, Ann Daly, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, Susan Foster, Mark Franko, Marianne Goldberg, Amy Koritz, Susan Kozel, Susan Manning, Randy Martin, Angela McRobbie, Kate Ramsey, Anna Scott, Janet Wolff
221 citations
Book•
17 Oct 2012
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a comprehensive, historical bible on the subject of urban street dance and its influence on modern dance, hip hop, and pop culture, including interviews and photos to further bring the rich history of urban dance to life.
Abstract: This book is a comprehensive, historical bible on the subject of urban street dance and its influence on modern dance, hip hop, and pop culture. * Includes coverage of all of the major players in urban dance * Places current dance phenomena-from the moves of Usher to the choreography of High School Musical-in a historical context that stretches half a century * Includes interviews and photos to further bring the rich history of urban dance to life
44 citations
TL;DR: In early-nineteenth-century Europe, dance was an essential part of celebration and recreation in both city and country and of the rich social and cultural context within which music was performed as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In early-nineteenth-century Europe, dance was an essential part of celebration and recreation in both city and country and of the rich social and cultural context within which music was performed. As has often been noted, however, the cultural practices of early-nineteenth-century Europe underwent a number of profound changes, and the practices surrounding music and dance were no exception. While in the years before 1800, a clear distinction existed between dance music for a privileged few and dance music for everyone else, circumstances began to change, and by the 1820s the line between dance for the few and dance for the many had blurred, or, in many cases—and the waltz certainly represented one of them—all but disappeared. As a consequence of this change, the meaning to which dance music gave rise in the early nineteenth century also changed: Dance music might be for a literal dance or it might be for a quasi-dramatic evocation of the dance, but its role as a way to structure musical discourse—that is,...
24 citations
Book•
19 Jun 2012
TL;DR: From ballet to burlesque, from frontier jig to the jitterbug, Americans have always loved watching dance, whether in grand ballrooms, on Mississippi riverboats, or in the streets.
Abstract: From ballet to burlesque, from the frontier jig to the jitterbug, Americans have always loved watching dance, whether in grand ballrooms, on Mississippi riverboats, or in the streets "Dance and American Art" is an innovative look at the elusive, evocative nature of dance and the American visual artists who captured it through their paintings, sculpture, photography, and prints from the early nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century The scores of artists discussed include many icons of American art: Winslow Homer, George Caleb Bingham, Mary Cassatt, James McNeill Whistler, Alexander Calder, Joseph Cornell, Edward Steichen, David Smith, and others As a subject for visual artists, dance has given new meaning to America s perennial myths, cherished identities, and most powerful dreams Their portrayals of dance and dancers, from the anonymous to the famous Anna Pavlova, Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Josephine Baker, Martha Graham have testified to the enduring importance of spatial organization, physical pattern, and rhythmic motion in creating aesthetic form Through extensive research, sparkling prose, and beautiful color reproductions, art historian Sharyn R Udall draws attention to the ways that artists portrayals of dance have defined the visual character of the modern world and have embodied culturally specific ideas about order and meaning, about the human body, and about the diverse fusions that comprise American culture"
23 citations
Book•
1 Jan 2012TL;DR: Kringelbach et al. as mentioned in this paper described the movement of dancing cultures in the context of dance tourism and dance tourism in the UK and the US, focusing on dance culture and the market.
Abstract: Introduction: The Movement of Dancing Cultures Helene Neveu Kringelbach (University of Oxford) and Jonathan Skinner (Queen's University Belfast) Part I: Dance and globalisation Chapter 1. Globalization and the Dance Import/Export Business: The Jive Story Jonathan Skinner (Queen's University Belfast) Chapter 2. Ballet culture and the market: a transnational perspective Helena Wulff (University of Stockholm) Chapter 3. "We've got this rhythm in our blood": dancing identities in Southern Italy Karen Ludtke (Independent Scholar) Part II: Tourism, Social Transformation and the Dance Chapter 4. Performance in tourism: transforming the gaze and tourist encounter at Hiwus Feasthouse Linda Scarangella-McNenly (McMaster University) Chapter 5. Movement on the move: performance and dance tourism Felicia Hughes-Freeland (Swansea University) Chapter 6. Dance, visibility and representational self-awareness in an Embera community in Panama Dimitrios Theodossopoulos (University of Bristol) Part III: Dance, identity and the nation Chapter 7. Moving shadows of Casamance: dance and regionalism in Senegal Helene Neveu Kringelbach (University of Oxford) Chapter 8. Ballet Folklorico Mexicano: choreographing a national identity in a transnational context Olga Najera-Ramirez (University of California, Santa Cruz) Chapter 9. Dance, youth and changing gender identities in Korea Severine Carrausse (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales) Chapter 10. Preparation, presentation and power: children's performances in a Balinese dance studio Jonathan McIntosh (University of Western Australia) Epilogue: Making culture Caroline Potter (University of Oxford) Notes on Contributors Bibliography Index
19 citations
TL;DR: The arts have fulfilled a major historical role as mediums of expressivity for people of African descent during the 1960s as mentioned in this paper, and during this important decade, a number of political and artistic...
Abstract: The arts have fulfilled a major historical role as mediums of expressivity for people of African descent during the 1960s. It is during this important decade that a number of political and artistic...
18 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a pedagogy that broadens standard practice by focusing additionally on both performance principles and spontaneous problem-solving in the technique classroom is proposed. And the benefits of this methodology in technique class include empowering students, incorporating critical thinking in dance technique class, and focusing on specific and varied performance principles.
Abstract: For intermediate and advanced university students, technique class has traditionally been the place to study a particular teacher's style and to hone technical skills. This article suggests a pedagogy that broadens standard practice by focusing additionally on both performance principles and spontaneous problem solving in the technique classroom. Developed as an integral part of her technique pedagogy, the author generates myriad Alteration Tasks that require her students' spontaneous decisions to alter well-learned modern dance phrases as they are dancing them. The benefits of this methodology in technique class include (a) empowering students, (b) incorporating critical thinking in dance technique class, and (c) focusing on specific and varied performance principles. This article outlines the Alteration Tasks, the pedagogical benefits, and practical recommendations for technique teachers.
15 citations
Book•
4 Jun 2012
TL;DR: Directing the Dance Legacy of Doris Humphrey as mentioned in this paper explores how to balance respect for classical works from the modern dance repertory with the necessity for fresh directorial strategies, to balance between traditional practices and a creative role for the reconstructor.
Abstract: Directing the Dance Legacy of Doris Humphrey looks inside four of Doris Humphrey’s major choreographic works—Water Study (1928), The Shakers (1931), With My Red Fires (1936), and Passacaglia (1938)—with an eye to how directorial strategies applied in recent contemporised stagings in the United States and Europe could work across the modern and contemporary dance genre. Author Lesley Main, a seasoned practitioner of Doris Humphrey choreography, stresses to the reader the need to balance respect for classical works from the modern dance repertory with the necessity for fresh directorial strategies, to balance between traditional practices and a creative role for the reconstructor.
Drawing upon her own dance experience, Main’s book addresses an area of dance research and practice that is becoming increasingly pertinent as the dancer-choreographers of the twentieth-century modern and contemporary dance are no longer alive to attend to the re-stagings of the body of their works. Historical paradigms are considered alongside current practices in theatre, with a comparative study of the staging of Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett illustrating that what is commonplace in one interpretive context is deemed controversial to the point of censorship in another.
Insightful and thought provoking, Directing the Dance Legacy of Doris Humphrey calls for the creation of new forms of directorial practice in dance beyond reconstruction. The radical new practices it proposes are sure to spark debate and fresh thinking across the dance field.
13 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the African American dance pedagogy designed by Katherine Dunham and how this story is linked to the intellectual genealogy of African American anthropology is discussed, and the dance education developed from ethnographic research was used to disseminate relevant cultural and spiritual capital in the United States.
Abstract: This study focuses on the African American dance pedagogy designed by Katherine Dunham and how this story is linked to the intellectual genealogy of African American anthropology. Dunham is argued to be a “decolonizing dance pedagogue” to describe how she recovered important dance epistemologies relevant to people of the African diaspora. Reconciling the consequences of colonization and racism in the “new world,” she engaged in a “critical postcolonial dance recovery.” Dunham's dance education developed from ethnographic research was used to disseminate relevant cultural and spiritual capital in the United States (Cruz Banks, 2009b). Her dance pedagogy is connected to historical and current discourses on racism, colonialism, and practices of decolonizing research.
13 citations
12 Mar 2012
TL;DR: Ratan Thiyam and Stephanie Burridge as mentioned in this paper have discussed the value of difference from the perspective of practice in modern dance education and the importance of diversity in dance performance and research.
Abstract: Foreword Ratan Thiyam Preface Stephanie Burridge Acknowledgements 1. Dance Scholarship and its Future: The Indian Context Kapila Vatsyayan 2. Institutionalization of Classical Dances of India: Kalakshetra -- The Principal Case Study Sunil Kothari 3. Questions for the Modern Dance Teacher: Child--Parent Responses to Modern Dance Education Ranjita Karlekar 4. Writing Out Otherness: Dancing Asian-Indian Uttara Asha Coorlawala 5. Why I Am Committed to a Contemporary South Asian Aesthetic: Arguments about the Value of 'Difference' from the Perspective of Practice Ananya Chatterjea 6. Reading Dance, Performing Research: Meaning, Interpretation, Context, and Re-contextualization in Dance Performance and Research Shrinkla Sahai 7. Imag(in)ing the Nation: Uday Shankar's 'Kalpana' Urmimala Sarkar Munsi 8. In Dialogue with Histories: The Dancer and the Actress Bishnupriya Dutt 9. The Beauty Myth and Beyond: Looking at the Bollywood Item Number Priyanka Basu 10. The Altered Space: Community Dances from Everyday to the Proscenium Debanjali Biswas and Anirban Ghosh 11. Patronage, Politics of Culture and the Dancing Body of the Other: A North-east Indian Experience Lokendra Arambam 12. Empowering through Dance Movement Therapy Sohini Chakraborty. Artist Voices and Biographies. Critics' Voices and Biographies. Index.
TL;DR: This article applied contemporary principles in cognitive and social psychology to understand how Western ballet and modern dance is imbued with emotional and narrative meaning by an audience. But they did not consider the audience's ascription of relationships and emotional states in narrative dances as well as construct them in abstract and plotless dances.
Abstract: This paper applies contemporary principles in cognitive and social psychology to understand how Western ballet and modern dance is imbued with emotional and narrative meaning by an audience These include nine Gestalt concepts of visual form perception as well as cognitive heuristics of representativeness and availability in concept formation and memory Ekman’s concepts of universal emotional states are applied to dance and culturally imbued meanings of “number” found in solos, duets, and trios are illustrated in well-known modern dances and ballets It is argued that these principles help represent and reinforce the audiences’ ascription of relationships and emotional states in narrative dances as well as construct them in abstract and plotless dances The paper briefly describes burgeoning empirical research in the area and integrates comments from student choreographers on their use of these principles with psychology students’ proposals for research
TL;DR: The authors explored the mutual haunting between American modern dance pioneer Martha Graham and feminism and argued that the confusion between what can be considered the predominantly feminist character of Graham's life and work coupled with Graham's outright rejection of a feminist consciousness is problematic.
Abstract: The essay explores the mutual haunting between American modern dance pioneer Martha Graham and feminism. This troubling arises from the confusion between what can be considered the predominantly feminist character of Graham's life and work coupled with Graham's outright rejection of a feminist consciousness. The author suggests that this ambivalent situation allows for an ever increasing complex but fruitful discussion of Graham's possible feminist identifications and their effects. The essay first argues for the performanative force of ‘doing’ a feminist identity as a foil for Graham's public written reputation of feminism. It then charts both the changing cultural and social beliefs of and about women in the twentieth century alongside Graham's specific geographical, social, cultural and historical placement in that history and its possible impact on her processes of identification. The essay then makes a close contextual reading of one of Graham's works of the early 1930s, Primitive Mysteries...
Book•
29 Jun 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a chronological survey of contemporary dance, focusing on dance innovation from the late 19th century to today, providing the reader with accessible information on the major contributors to the art.
Abstract: This Guide provides the reader with a chronological survey of contemporary dance. It is studded with references to Internet sources to satisfy readers who may not have access to live performances. Rather than illustrating this book with photographs - Google, YouTube, Vimeo and similar sites have become the illustrators. Focusing on dance innovation from the late 19th century to today, this history provides the reader with accessible information on the major contributors to the art. Organized chronologically by the decades in which innovators were born or dance organizations were founded, it covers more than 110 choreographers, companies, institutions, and dancers from both modern dance and ballet, and from around the world. Readers can view clips of dances from over 220 Internet search addresses that illustrate the text. Video-graphics are provided at the end of each chapter for viewing complete dances and documentaries.
Book•
26 Sep 2012
TL;DR: The authors provides an exploration of dances banned around the world, then revived by a handful of brave proponents, ranging from Argentina's Tango and Cambodia's Royal Classical Ballet to Brazil's Samba and Ireland's Step Dance.
Abstract: Throughout history, humans have used dance as a benefit for mind, body, and soul. In some cases, governments or churches have banned certain dances for a variety of reasons. This work provides an exploration of dances banned around the world, then revived by a handful of brave proponents. The sixteen case studies--ranging from Argentina's Tango and Cambodia's Royal Classical Ballet to Brazil's Samba and Ireland's Step Dance--reveal the meaning of the dance to each culture and the importance of the art form to the creation of healthy sociological and political climates. Chapters detail each dance's origins, technical steps and movements, costumes, music, and political history, providing an informative overview of the oppression of dance culture through history.
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31 Jan 2012
TL;DR: In this paper, a collection of observations by choreographers and scholars, dancers, dramaturges and dance theorists are collected in an effort to trace the multiple ways in which dance and theory correlate and redefine each other: What is the nature of their relationship? How can we outline a theory of dance from our particular historical perspective which will cover dance both as a practice and as an academic concept?
Abstract: Both the identity of dance and that of theory are at risk as soon as the two intertwine. This anthology collects observations by choreographers and scholars, dancers, dramaturges and dance theorists in an effort to trace the multiple ways in which dance and theory correlate and redefine each other: What is the nature of their relationship? How can we outline a theory of dance from our particular historical perspective which will cover dance both as a practice and as an academic concept? The contributions examine which concepts, interdependencies and discontinuities of dance and theory are relevant today and promise to engage us in the future. They address crucial topics of the current debate in dance and performance studies such as artistic research, aesthetics, politics, visuality, archives, and the next generation.
TL;DR: The authors revisited ideas put forward at the beginning of an academic career and discussed the ways in which time and experience within academe has shifted my perspective, focusing on focusing on the positive aspects of academic experience.
Abstract: This article revisits ideas put forward at the beginning of an academic career and discusses the ways in which time and experience within academe has shifted my perspective. Specifically, focusing ...
TL;DR: Goldhuber's When the World Smells Like Bacon (2001), Pappas's Thumbnail ( Monster 0 ) (2006), and Cohen's Cleaning Time (Vienna): a Shandeh un a Charpeh (A Shame and a Disgrace) (2007) viscerally confront difference, victimization, and power through public acts and radically Jewish physicalities as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: in the early to mid-twentieth century, modern dance played a critical role in assimilating Jewish bodies into the majority and replacing negative images with positive ones. in contrast, postmodern dances by Jewish choreographers have rejected universality for specificity, investigated the politics of difference, and issued sharp social critiques. still, most do not delve too deeply into stereotyping. this essay considers how three contemporary dance and performance artists—Lawrence Goldhuber, Rebecca Pappas, and Steven Cohen—use spectacle, degradation, and irreverence to make corporeal and performative interventions in a bodily history of anti-semitism, and to consider the impact of this history on their own bodies and identities. Goldhuber's When the World Smells Like Bacon (2001), Pappas's Thumbnail ( Monster 0 ) (2006), and Cohen's Cleaning Time (Vienna): a Shandeh un a Charpeh (A Shame and a Disgrace) (2007) viscerally confront difference, victimization, and power through public acts and radically Jewish physicalities.
TL;DR: A case is made to consider, through the historical process of re-remembering, the styles of jazz dancing practiced in clubs in Great Britain in the early 1980s as an important aspect of British dance heritage as discussed by the authors, and a particular jazz dance battle that took place between dancers from the groups IDJ (I Dance Jazz) and Brothers in Jazz serves as a focus for the discussion of how a generation of dancers established hybrid British styles of virtuosic dancing.
Abstract: A case is made to consider, through the historical process of re-remembering, the styles of jazz dancing practiced in clubs in Great Britain in the early 1980s as an important aspect of British dance heritage. A particular jazz dance battle that took place between dancers from the groups IDJ (I Dance Jazz) and Brothers in Jazz serves as a focus for the discussion of how a generation of dancers established hybrid British styles of virtuosic dancing. In so doing they generated new forms of dance praxis that challenge received categories bifurcating dance into social versus theatrical dancing and popular culture versus high art.
3 Jul 2012
TL;DR: Dancing Through Trauma in Post 9/11 New York investigates the role of dance as a means of trauma therapy following the September 11th terrorist attacks as mentioned in this paper, which is performed as a form of self-defense.
Abstract: Dancing Through Trauma in Post 9/11 New York investigates the role of dance as a means of trauma therapy following the September 11th terrorist attacks.
TL;DR: In this article, a case study focused on a group of teachers' and students' opinions regarding the recent reforms in the dance department of Tainan University of Technology (TUT) in Taiwan.
Abstract: This case study focuses on a group of teachers’ and students’ opinions regarding the recent reforms in the dance department of Tainan University of Technology (TUT) in Taiwan. The author uses Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of forms of capital and symbolic violence to probe for the motivation, process and consequences of the changes brought about by reform, and her analysis exposes a form of symbolic violence derived from social aesthetic preferences. This is most clearly manifested in the cultural capital assigned to certain dance genres (ballet, modern dance or Chinese dance) at the expense of others. A serious consequence of this has been the reproduction of an unequal power structure at TUT and in Taiwan’s dance field in higher education in general, as those dancers specialising in the perceived ‘low’ forms are unable to obtain a university degree since dance majors are not offered in these low-ranking genres. Interviews with the respondents reveal that a rising awareness of the situation has led some agents...
1 Jan 2012
TL;DR: The West Virginia Ballet Festival (WVBF) as discussed by the authors was part of West Virginia regional culture and the national performance dance boom and contributed to the national cultural shifts in midcentury United States.
Abstract: This thesis examines the West Virginia Ballet Festival (WVBF), which began in 1968 and became the West Virginia Dance Festival (WVDF) in 1981. This work studies the four groups that made up the festival community, including the West Virginia performance dance teachers who founded the festival, the West Virginia performance dance students who attend the events, the out-of-state professional guest artists who taught and performed at the festivals, and the nonartistic professional administrators who organized the WVDF. The WVBF/WVDF was part of West Virginia regional culture and the national performance dance boom. I argue that performance dance must be incorporated within historiographic understandings of West Virginia culture and identity. This study of performance dance in West Virginia shows that West Virginia was part of the national performance dance boom and contributed to the national cultural shifts in midcentury United States. Additionally, this work asserts that regional performance dance must be included within the historiography of performance dance, as this inclusion changes understandings of gender roles in performance dance.
12 Aug 2012
TL;DR: Gitelman and Palfy as discussed by the authors examined the contributions made by solo dancers from the dawn of the twentieth century through today and explored many important statements these soloists made regarding topics such as freedom, personal space, individuality, and gender in the modern era.
Abstract: Soloists ignited the modern dance movement and have been a source of its constant renewal Pioneering dancers such as Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St Denis, and Maud Allan embodied the abstraction and individuality of the larger modernist movement while making astounding contributions to their art Nevertheless, solo dancers have received far less attention in the literature than have performers and choreographers associated with large companies In "On Stage Alone," editors Claudia Gitelman and Barbara Palfy take an international approach to the solo dance performance The essays in this standout volume broaden the dance canon by bringing to light modern dance soloists from Europe, Asia, and the Americas who have shaped significant, sustained careers by performing full programs of their own choreography Featuring in-depth examinations of the work of artists such as Michio Ito, Daniel Nagrin, Ann Carlson, and many others, "On Stage Alone" reveals the many contributions made by daring solo dancers from the dawn of the twentieth century through today In doing so, it explores many important statements these soloists made regarding topics such as freedom, personal space, individuality, and gender in the modern era"
Book•
30 Jul 2012
TL;DR: The lens of dance can provide a multifaceted view of the present-day Cuban experience as discussed by the authors, and it was natural and highly effective for the Revolutionary regime to link national image with the visceral power of dance.
Abstract: The lens of dance can provide a multifaceted view of the present-day Cuban experience. Cuban contemporary dance, or tecnica cubana as it is known throughout Latin America, is a highly evolved hybrid of ballet, North American modern dance, Afro-Cuban tradition, flamenco and Cuban nightclub cabaret. Unlike most dance forms, tecnica was created intentionally with government backing. For Cuba, a dancing country, it was natural--and highly effective--for the Revolutionary regime to link national image with the visceral power of dance. Written by a dancer who traveled and worked in Cuba from the 1970s to the present, this book provides an inside look at daily life in Cuba. From watching the great Alicia Alonso, to describing the economic trials of the 1990s "Special Period," the author uses history, humor, personal experience, rich description and extensive interviews to reveal contemporary life and dance in Cuba.
Book•
1 Sep 2012
TL;DR: Barlow as discussed by the authors surveys over 600 years of imagery, drawing out major themes in the representation of dance, including the tension between decorum and licence on the dance floor and how this changed with the advent of jive and the untutored vitality of rock'n' roll.
Abstract: A knees-up at a country fair, a pair of dancing ogres, children round a maypole, ballroom champions, decadent masquerade, and celebrations at Piccadilly Circus on VE day all feature in this enchanting survey of dance illustration through the centuries What do these vibrant, often elegant and sometimes irreverent images reveal to us about the history of social dancing and changing attitudes towards the dance floor? In his richly illustrated book, Jeremy Barlow surveys over 600 years of imagery, drawing out major themes in the representation of dance He shows how over the centuries, artists and illustrators have represented dance in a stylized and often humorous manner, with curved, flowing lines for the gracious dancer and angular postures for the uncouth, rustic, or exhibitionistic performer He also reveals how artists have responded in imaginative ways to the challenge of how to convey a sense of the dancer's movement through a frozen moment in print, and what techniques illustrators have used to demonstrate specific poses and steps, from the galliard, mazurka, and minuet to the waltz, tango, and cha cha cha Finally he examines the age-old tension between decorum and licence on the dance floor and how this changed with the advent of jive and the untutored vitality of rock'n' roll The book draws on a wide range of materials in the Bodleian Library, including fourteenth-century manuscripts, satirical prints, dance cards, and invitations to balls Each image is carefully analysed for what it can reveal to us about behavioural codes and satirical intent, providing an unusual insight into the social history and imagery of dance
Journal Article•
TL;DR: This paper explored how contemporary American practitioners of belly dance (as Middle Eastern dance and its many varieties are often called in the English-speaking world) conceptualize not only the spiritual dimensions of their dance, but also how the very notion of performance affects sacred and spiritual dance practices.
Abstract: In this paper, I explore how contemporary American practitioners of belly dance (as Middle Eastern dance and its many varieties are often called in the English-speaking world) conceptualize not only the spiritual dimensions of their dance, but also how the very notion of performance affects sacred and spiritual dance practices. Drawing on interviews with this community, I describe the techniques of sacred and spiritual belly dancers, how these dancers theorize performance, and how the conflicts inherent to patriarchal mind-body dualism are resolved in these practices. My purpose here is twofold: to document an emergent dance tradition and to analyze its meanings in the relevant social context.