Fields in Motion: Ethnography in the Worlds of Dance

488 Pages·2011·3.219 MB·English

by  Dena Davida

“The authors in Fields in Motion emerge from this unique anthology as engaging dance D
scholars from various parts of the world. Their words are framed by research on art dance e
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‘at home.’ They share with us, their readers, as they refl ect on the views and behaviors a
of their dancer subjects, whom they researched through an ethnographic lens. Our own D
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horizons expand as we meet these authors, and as we begin to perceive the spreading global v Fields in Motion
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dedication to ethnographic research for art dance ‘at home.’” d
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– Joann W. Kealiinohomoku, Northern Arizona University emerita, Cross-Cultural Dance Resources , e
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“Fields in Motion brings together twenty-four scholars who approach dance from an ethno- t
o
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graphic perspective. But rather than focus on genres more embedded in circumscribed
communities – generally the domain of anthropologists specializing in dance – the
ethnography in the worlds of dance
contributors concentrate on theatre dance. Joann Kealiinohomoku has demonstrated that all
dance is culturally rooted, but art dance is for many beyond ethnographic enquiry, since it is
often perceived as ‘outside culture.’ This collection provides rich evidence to the contrary.
“Fields in Motion reveals the many nuanced ways in which bodies in theatre dance may be
socially and culturally mediated through diverse approaches to ethnography (polyphonic,
multi-sited, auto-, experiential, intimate, and so on), to fi eld/dance sites (from small towns in
Canada and the US to Paris, Helsinki, and Toronto; from Taiwan to Brazil to New Zealand), and
to the subjects of research (from amateur to professional; from largely female to male only).”
– Andrée Grau, Roehampton University
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Fields in Motion: Ethnography in the Worlds of Dance examines the deeper meanings and t
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resonances of artistic dance in contemporary culture. The book comprises four sections: n
methods and methodologies, autoethnography, pedagogies and creative processes, and o
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choreographies as cultural and spiritual representations. The contributors bring an insider's r
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insight to their accounts of the nature and function of these artistic practices, giving voice to p
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dancers, dance teachers, creators, programmers, spectators, students, and scholars. y
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International and intergenerational, this groundbreaking scholarly research points to a n
new direction for both dance studies and dance anthropology. Traditionally the exclusive th
domain of aesthetic philosophers, the art of dance is here reframed as cultural practice, e
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and its signifi cance is revealed through a chorus of voices from practitioners and insider
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ethnographers. r
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Dena Davida has taught university courses and lectured on contemporary dance and o
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culture and has published various essays in academic journals and professional periodicals. d
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Her doctoral work was an ethnographic study of meaning in a contemporary dance event in
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Montreal, the outcome of her earlier practice as a postmodern dancer and current work as c
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performing arts presenter and dance educator.
Dena Davida, editor
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Fields in Motion
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Fields in Motion
ETHNOGRAPHY IN THE WORLDS OF DANCE
DENA DAVIDA, editor
WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY PRESS
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This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation
for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications
Programme, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada. Wilfrid Laurier University Press acknowledges the support of
the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We acknowledge the
financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for
our publishing activities.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Fields in motion : ethnography in the worlds of dance / Dena Davida, editor.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Issued also in electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-55458-339-3
1. Dance—Social aspects. I. Davida, Dena
GV1594.D38 2011 306.4’84 C2011-902981-2
Issued also in print format.
ISBN 978-1-55458-377-5 (PDF)
1. Dance—Social aspects. I. Davida, Dena
GV1594.D38 2011a 306.4’84 C2011-902982-0
Cover photo, by Cylla von Tiedemann, shows Lata Pada dancing in a solo from her
choreography Revealed by Fire. Cover design by Daiva Villa, Chris Rowat Design. Text
design by Catharine Bonas-Taylor.
© 2011 Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Page 461 constitutes an extension of this copyright page.
This book is printed on FSC recycled paper and is certified Ecologo. It is made from
100% post-consumer fibre, processed chlorine free, and manufactured using biogas
energy.
Printed in Canada
Every reasonable effort has been made to acquire permission for copyright material
used in this text, and to acknowledge all such indebtedness accurately. Any errors
and omissions called to the publisher’s attention will be corrected in future print-
ings.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or trans-
mitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the pub-
lisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copy-
right). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free
to 1-800-893-5777.
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To Joann Kealiinohomoku,
a founding mother of American dance anthropology,
whose crucial proposition that all dances are ethnic was the genesis of this book
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In memoriam
Susan McNaughton (1952–2010)
This volume was in production when, on December 4, 2010, author and
choreographer Susan McNaughton passed away. Even from her hospital bed
she continued revising her chapter in this book and pursuing her doctoral
research in anthropology. Her radiant body and mind will be deeply missed
in the art worlds of dance.
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CONTENTS
FOREWORD xi
Naomi Jackson (Canada/USA)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xiii
INTRODUCTION Anthropology at Home in the Art Worlds of Dance 1
Dena Davida (Canada)
SECTION 1 :: INVENTING STRATEGIES, MODELS, AND METHODS
1 Shifting Positions: From the Dancer’s Posture to the Researcher’s
Posture 19
Anne Cazemajou (France)
2 A Template for Art World Dance Ethnography: The Luna
“Nouvelle Danse” Event 29
Dena Davida (Canada)
3 Interview Strategies for Concert Dance World Settings 47
Jennifer Fisher (Canada/USA)
4 The “Why Dance?” Projects: Choreographing the Text and Dancing
the Data 67
Michèle Moss (Canada)
5 What Is the Pointe?: The Pointe Shoe as Symbol in Dance Ethnography 85
Kristin Harris Walsh (Canada)
SECTION 2 :: EMBODYING AUTOETHNOGRAPHIES
6 Writing, Dancing, Embodied Knowing: Autoethnographic Research 101
Karen Barbour (New Zealand)
7 The Body as a Living Archive of Dance/Movement: Autobiographical
Reflections 119
Janet Goodridge (England)
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CONTENTS
8 Self-Portrait of an Insider: Researching Contemporary Dance and Culture
in Vitória, Brazil 145
Eluza Maria Santos (Brazil/USA)
9 Reflections on Making the Dance Documentary Regular Events of Beauty:
Negotiating Culture in the Work of Choreographer Richard Tremblay 159
Priya Thomas (Canada)
10 Angelwindow: “I dance my body double” 171
Inka Juslin (Finland)
SECTION 3 :: EXAMINING CREATIVE PROCESSES AND PEDAGOGIES
11 The Montréal Danse Choreographic Research and Development Workshop:
Dancer-Researchers Examine Choreographer–Dancer Relational Dynamics
during the Creative Process 191
Pamela Newell and Sylvie Fortin (Canada)
12 How the Posture of Researcher-Practitioner Serves an Understanding of
Choreographic Activity 219
Joëlle Vellet (France)
13 A Teacher “Self-Research” Project: Sensing Differences in the Teaching and
Learning of Contemporary Dance Technique in New Zealand 233
Ralph Buck (New Zealand), Sylvie Fortin (Canada), and Warwick Long
(Canada/New Zealand)
14 Dance Education and Emotions: Articulating Unspoken Values in the
Everyday Life of a Dance School 255
Teija Löytönen (Finland)
15 Black Tights and Dance Belts: Constructing a Masculine Identity in a World
of Pink Tutus in Corner Brook, Newfoundland 277
Candice Pike (Canada)
16 The Construction of the Body in Wilfride Piollet’s Classical Dance
Classes 305
Nadège Tardieu and Georgiana Gore (France)
SECTION 4 :: REVEALING CHOREOGRAPHIES AS CULTURAL AND
SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
17 Vincent Sekwati Mantsoe: Trance as a Cultural Commodity 319
Bridget E. Cauthery (Canada)
18 Anthropophagic Bodies in Flea Market: A Study of Sheila Ribeiro’s
Choreography 339
Mônica Dantas (Brazil)
viii
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CONTENTS
19 The Bridge from Past to Present in Lin Hwai-min’s Nine Songs (1993):
Literary Texts and Visual Images 361
Yin-Ying Huang (Taiwan)
20 Revealed by Fire: Lata Pada’s Narrative of Transformation 381
Susan McNaughton (Canada)
21 Spectres of the Dark: The Dance-Making Manifesto of Latina/Chicana
Choreographies 403
Juanita Suarez (USA)
22 Not of Themselves: Contemporary Practices in American Protestant
Dance 427
Emily Wright (USA)
EPILOGUE Theory That Acts like Dancing: The Autoethnographic Strut 445
Lisa Doolittle and Anne Flynn (Canada)
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS 453
COPYRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 461
INDEX 463
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