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| Dance Research | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dance research |
| Focus | Performance, choreography, ethnography, history |
| Disciplines | Anthropology, Musicology, History |
Dance Research
Dance research is the systematic study of human movement traditions, choreographic processes, and performance contexts through historical, ethnographic, theoretical, and practice-based inquiry. Scholars investigate sources ranging from archival materials to field recordings, using methods from Anthropology, Musicology, Theatre Studies, Art History, and Sociology to analyze dance as embodied cultural knowledge. Research outcomes inform curation at Museum of Modern Art, pedagogy at institutions like Juilliard School and Royal Academy of Dance, and policy at organizations such as UNESCO.
Dance research encompasses historical reconstruction of works by figures like Martha Graham, Isadora Duncan, Merce Cunningham, and Vaslav Nijinsky; ethnographic studies of communities including the Gamelan ensembles of Bali, Flamenco practitioners in Seville, and Kathak performers in Varanasi. It covers choreographic analysis of pieces by Pina Bausch, George Balanchine, Rudolf Laban, and Anna Halprin; biomechanical studies referencing laboratories at MIT, Stanford University and University College London; and critical theory engaging texts by Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Stuart Hall, and bell hooks.
Early archival work traces notation systems from Rudolf Laban's labanotation and Ivor Guest's histories to nineteenth-century sheet music collections at British Library and Bibliothèque nationale de France. Twentieth-century institutionalization occurred with departments founded at New York University, University of California, Los Angeles, Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS), and festivals such as Jacqueline du Pré Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe that foregrounded experimental practice. Postcolonial turns engaged scholars connected to Columbia University, University of Cape Town, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and movements like Black Arts Movement and Indian Independence Movement that influenced repertory and scholarship. Technological advances in motion capture at Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry and film archiving at British Film Institute reshaped preservation and analysis.
Methods include practice-led research developed at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Royal College of Art, ethnography influenced by work at School of Oriental and African Studies and Smithsonian Institution, and quantitative biomechanics practiced at Harvard University, University of Oxford, and University of Tokyo. Semiotic analysis draws on frameworks by Roland Barthes and Roman Jakobson, while phenomenology references Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Edmund Husserl. Archival reconstruction utilizes collections at Dance Notation Bureau, Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, and Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library. Digital humanities projects hosted by Stanford Digital Repository, Europeana, and Digital Public Library of America integrate motion capture data and metadata standards from Library of Congress.
Dance research intersects with Cognitive Science labs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, film studies at University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, and disability studies centered at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University College Dublin. Collaborations occur with Royal Opera House, Bolshoi Theatre, La Scala, and contemporary companies like Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Batsheva Dance Company, and Nederlands Dans Theater. Cross-disciplinary projects link with Neuroscience departments at Johns Hopkins University and Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences to study motor learning and mirror neuron systems; with Architecture Association School of Architecture to explore spatial dramaturgy; and with Fashion Institute of Technology for costume analysis.
Subdisciplines include dance historiography focused on archives at Victoria and Albert Museum, ethnomusicology of dance genres such as Samba in Rio de Janeiro and Tango in Buenos Aires, and somatic studies connected to practitioners like Bartenieff Fundamentals and Feldenkrais Method. Performance studies examine festivals like Jacob's Pillow and pedagogy at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Notation and reconstruction use systems from Benesh Movement Notation and labanotation projects at Royal Ballet School. Popular dance research engages Hip hop scenes in Bronx, Salsa communities in Havana, and K-Pop choreography in Seoul.
Researchers navigate cultural property debates involving UNESCO conventions, repatriation claims associated with museums like Metropolitan Museum of Art, and intellectual property disputes in cases connected to choreographers represented by societies such as ASCAP and BMI. Political choreography studies examine protest movements from Solidarity (Polish trade union) rallies to demonstrations at Tiananmen Square and performance art in contexts like Apartheid-era South Africa and Arab Spring uprisings. Equity and access concerns are addressed by initiatives at National Endowment for the Arts, diversity programs at Arts Council England, and labor agreements negotiated with unions such as Actors' Equity Association.
Major institutions supporting research include university departments at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, University of California, Riverside, Universidade de São Paulo, and conservatoires like Codarts Rotterdam. Training pathways span professional schools such as Royal Ballet School, community programs at Dance Theatre of Harlem, and certificate programs at Laban Conservatoire. Key publication venues include journals associated with Society of Dance History Scholars, monographs from Routledge, edited volumes published by Oxford University Press, and digital platforms hosted by JSTOR and Project MUSE. Conferences and festivals—International Congress on Dance Research, World Dance Alliance, and American Dance Festival—provide forums for dissemination and collaboration.
Category:Dance