Critical Theory and Dance Practice

During the academic year 2005/06 and again in 2009 I was a visiting professor in the post-graduate choreography program of ArtEZ, the Arnhem Institute for the Arts in Arnhem, The Netherlands.

The course aims to help students bridge the gap between critical theory and dance practice. The course will provide an introduction to some of the central issues in critical theory and explore the origins of some of the ideas and theories that inform contemporary art in general and dance in particular.

We will discuss the work of philosophers and critical thinkers such as Jacques Rancière, Jean-Luc Nancy, Slavoj Zizek, Alain Badiou, Michel Foucault, Bruno Latour, Jean Baudrillard, Hélène Cixous and Jacques Derrida and artists such as David Lynch, Jeff Wall, Thomas Hirschhorn and René Pollesch. Students will learn how to place their own work within the larger framework of contemporary art and culture and how to both critically and artistically reflect upon developments in art, science, technology and society. During the first term each student will formulate a research question, which he or she will independently investigate during the second term.

Here's a picture of the amazing building where the dance academy is housed. And here's another. To the left and right are studios. At the end of the "street" are two auditoriums that are better equipped than most theatres. Underneath are lecture rooms. The building has been dug into the ground, hence the supporting frame.

Course Objectives

Students will learn how to flesh out the thinking involved in their artistic work and how to position themselves within the larger framework of developments in critical theory and contemporary culture. They will acquire the skills to independently do research and will learn how to structure their ideas into an essay, oral presentation and a brief artist statement. By the end of the course students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a broad knowledge of various currents in critical theory;

• Formulate and articulate their own ideas;

• Critically evaluate dance reviews and interviews with dance artists.

Course Structure

A public lecture at the beginning of each term will provide an overview of some issues in critical theory and set the stage for the material that will be discussed during the rest of the term. Students meet once every month. During these sessions they discuss their research with the tutor. The tutor will initiate, facilitate and guide the discussions. In addition to their own research, during each session a recent article, interview, movie, performance or exhibition will be discussed.

Course Material

The course material will largely be determined by each students individual research project. Additionally, students are encouraged to read a selection of the books and articles from the recommended reading list.

Information for Students

Guidelines for writing an essay

Student Evaluation

Students will be evaluated on the basis of an essay documenting their research. The length of the essay should be between 10.000 and 15.000 words.

Recommended Reading

Jacques Rancière, The Emancipated Spectator

Jacques Ranciere, Le spectateur émancipé. Paris: La fabrique éditions, 2008.

Jean Baudrillard, The Conspiracy of Art. New York: Semiotext(e), 2005.

Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish. The Birth of the Prison (Trans. Alan Sheridan). London: Penguin Books, 1991 (1975).

Ivar Hagendoorn, Dance, Choreography and the Brain, in: Melcher, D. and Bacci, F. [eds.], Art and the Senses. Oxford University Press, 499-514 (forthcoming).

Bruno Latour, Why Has Critique Run out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern, Critical Inquiry 30, 2004, pp. 225-248. Highly recommended.

Alain Badiou, La danse comme métaphore de la pensée, in: Petit manuel d'inesthétique. Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1998.

Brian Massumi, Parables for the Virtual. Movement, Affect, Sensation. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2002.

Jean-Luc Nancy, Corpus, in: Jean-Luc Nancy, The Birth to Presence (Transl. Brian Holmes). Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1993.

Michel Onfray, Antimanuel de Philosophie. Rosny-Sous-Bois: Editions Bréal, 2001. [Spanish translation: Antimanual de Filosofia, 2005; Dutch translation: Antihandboek voor de Filosofie, 2003].

Slavoj Zizek, Looking Awry. An Introduction to Jacques Lacan Through Popular Culture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1991.

Slavoj Zizek, You may!, London Review of Books, 18 March 1999.

Zournazi, M. (2003), ‘Navigating Movements: An Interview with Brian Massumi’, 21C Magazine.

Graduate Students

2005/06

Alexandra Waierstall

Sharona Florsheim

Isabel Cuesta

2008/10

Ingo Keil

Gabriela Tarcha

Juliana Atuesta

2010

Amir Kolben (external advisor)