Lecture by Alexandra Kolb Sept 23
Current Trends in Contemporary Dance: A Political Critique
A lecture by Dr. Alexandra Kolb
Is contemporary dance enshrined in the logic of capitalism and establishment culture, or can it truly claim to challenge the societal status quo by producing liberatory or transgressive work? This paper looks at current global tendencies in dance from a critical perspective. It focuses on works which depart from the traditional creative processes of Western theatre dance by embracing participatory, immersive, multi-media or collaborative modes of performance.
Using examples from a variety of countries, the paper considers whether and how the corresponding aesthetic choices and creative working methods align themselves with trends in globalisation, the modern market economy and contemporary political ideologies: in particular the ever-present discourse about democracy. My account of the interface between dance and these other phenomena will reveal how current performance practice is in many respects shaped by its socio-political environment.
Alexandra Kolb is Reader in Dance at Middlesex University in London. Previous appointments include Senior Lecturer and Chair of Dance Studies at Otago University in New Zealand. Alexandra received her doctorate from the University of Cambridge and trained professionally in dance in Düsseldorf and at John Neumeier’s Academy of the Hamburg Ballet. She is the author of Performing Femininity: Dance and Literature in German Modernism (2009) and the editor of Dance and Politics (2011). She has contributed to a range of international journals, including About Performance, Discourses in Dance and Journal of European Studies. She occasionally dabbles in choreography herself.
Weld, Norrtullsgatan 7 (tube Odenplan) 11329 Stockholm