Consumption of Dance

Me me me. 

So you think you can dance? 

Bells. Whistles. Bubbles

Hugo Letiche (2012) writes in a recent article,

 "Contemporary consumerist spectacularity reduces performance to so many wares to be bought and sold. This, of course, is the situationalist critique of capitalist ‘spectacularity’ (Debord 1984). Consumerist re-presentation destroys the very possibility of authentic expression." (181)

To sink dance down to a level of wow, spectacle, and simple-minded narrative ease, is to deny dance it's true right. The depth that is possible is overshadowed by superficial consumption. 

What the TV provides is analogous to white bread - bleached, clean, and lacking any nutritional value. My suggestion is to see contemporary dance in the theater - from many different creators. Here, you will find the wholegrain, seeds, spelt, and more. 

When i say that I am a contemporary dancer, I want people to be able to connect to this rather than asking, "What show are you in?"

This connection would require a shift in the artistic education of our youth as well as a social shift in mentality towards movement. I have been told often that youth may not understand the somatic work behind dance, that they just want to move, that they are too young. If we continue saying this, then they will also think this. But if we treat them as we treat adults in regards to resonance training, somatic connection, phenomenology, and flow, then maybe they, too, can appreciate more depth in dance.

References: 

Hugo Letiche (2012) Research ethics: Dance, presence, performance and performativity, Culture and Organization, 18:3, 177-193, DOI: 10.1080/14759551.2011.644668