Dance and Ethics: Moving Towards a More Humane Dance Culture

269 Pages·2022·2.67 MB·English

by  Naomi M. Jackson

Dance and Ethics

Dance and Ethics
Moving Towards a More
Humane Dance Culture
Naomi M. Jackson
Bristol, UK / Chicago, USA
First published in the UK in 2022 by
Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2022 by
Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street,
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright © 2022 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.
Copy editor: MPS Limited
Cover designer: Tanya Montefusco
Cover image: from ‘Human-Elm-Sky’ series, copyright 2022 by Jody Sperling
Choreographer/Dancer/Artist: Jody Sperling; costume constructed by Mary Jo
Mecca; textile painting by Gina Nagy Burns; cinematography by Benjamin Wolf.
Production manager: Laura Christopher
Typesetter: MPS Limited
Print ISBN 978-1-78938-613-4
ePDF ISBN 978-1-78938-614-1
ePUB ISBN 978-1-78938-615-8
To find out about all our publications, please visit our website.
There you can subscribe to our e-newsletter, browse or download our current
catalogue and buy any titles that are in print.
www.intellectbooks.com
This is a peer-reviewed publication.
To André and Damon,
for making me want to be the best human I can be.

Contents
Acknowledgements ix
1. Why Study Ethical Issues in Dance? 1
2. Dance, Decency and a Life Well-Lived 29
3. Educating Dancers with Dignity, Respect and Care 57
4. Ethics and Dance Making 92
5. Ethics and Critiquing Dance 124
6. Ethical Issues in the Presenting World of Dance 160
7. ‘Care’-fully Negotiating Change: Moving Towards a 197
More Humane Dance Culture
References 226
Index 249

Acknowledgements
I would like to first and foremost thank Dena Davida for her unwavering support
for this work and her encouragement for seeing it through to its completion, and
to Jennifer Quincey who assisted in getting the book to publishable form.
I would also like to acknowledge Jennifer Fisher, Andy Horwitz, Anthony
Shay, Ellen Bromberg and Douglas Rosenberg, who all provided valuable feed-
back at various stages of the long birthing process of the manuscript, and to other
colleagues such as Julie Van Camp, Lynn Garafola and Deborah Jowitt, who
provided valuable insights along the way. This also includes the many choreogra-
phers, critics, educators and presenters who graciously agreed to be interviewed for
the book. A special recognition for Robin Lakes, whose critical examinations of
traditional pedagogical practices have been so important to the dance field and to
my own understanding – my deepest respect for her pioneering work in this area.
I would also like to thank the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, at Arizona
State University, and Margaret Urban Walker, for introducing me to the field
of ethics in all its wonder and complexity. And last, but not least, to numerous
incredible students who assisted with different aspects of the research, including
(but not limited to) Audi Miller, Faith Markovetz, Ashley Cole, Shannon Smith,
Austen Tackett and Hannah Cooper.
Generous funding for this project was made possible from ASU’s Institute for
Humanities Research and the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Finan-
cial support is also provided in part by ASU Jewish Studies. Special thanks to
Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Director and the dedicated staff of ASU Jewish Studies
for their support of this project.
ix