A Question for a Dance Critic: What is the object of your criticism?

dancers skill and performance factors such as execution of the choreography, grace, strength, movement quality, musicality, presentation, acting/expression, and emotion. To be a good dance critic is to evaluate the performance of a dancer with these aesthetics always in mind, over-riding any personal physical preferences he or she might have.

The issue of body type and size is hard to ignore because in the collective unconscious of the modern audience. The dominance of the Balanchine dancer in the dance world has led to a severely restricted view of what is acceptable in a dancer and has clouded the minds of many audiences, including the reviewer. It is necessary for this to change, and in order to change, the critic must know the true object of criticism and must carefully evaluate it in light of social and personal constructs to filter out unnecessary expectations and preferences.

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Sources

"Philosophical Problems of Dance Criticism," Julie Charlotte Van Camp http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/diss.html

"Anti-Geneticism and Critical Practice in Dance," Julie Van Camp, Dance Research Journal, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Fall 1980): 29-35 http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/article4....

To read more about dance criticism, go to DANCE WRITING at http://members.aol.com/lwitchel/dance.htm

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