Consumer dance identity: the intersection between competition dance, televised dance shows and social media

ABSTRACT

This article employs a theoretical framework, utilizing cultural analysis, to explore how the intersection in the United States between competition dance, televised dance shows, and social media (which will be defined as consumer dance) is affecting the embodiment, pedagogy, and appreciation of dance, and contributing to the objectification and commodification of these dancers. Hegemonic constructions of gender and beauty populate consumer dance, giving birth to identities that are predominately reliant on the sense of sight due to technological changes that have plunged society into a nonstop visual world found on a screen. Engaging with the scholarship of Karen Schupp, Susan Foster, and Alexis Weisbord that examines competition dance, the current consumer dance model is analyzed for how it shapes the dancer’s body and psyche. As a researcher, I see an intersection of my identities as a figure skater, modern dancer, choreographer, educator, feminist, and the mother of two daughters who dance informing the trajectory of my research. This scholarship draws from different lenses delving into philosophy, dance studies, feminism, and psychology in order to reveal the complexity of the forces that create consumer dance.

KEYWORDS:

• Competition dance
• objectification in dance
• consumerism in dance
• televised dance
• technology and dance
• feminism in dance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Heather Harrington

Heather Harrington received her BA in psychology from Boston University and her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has been on faculty at Kean University, Seton Hall University, and Drew University. Harrington danced with the Doris Humphrey Repertory Company, Martha Graham Ensemble, Pearl Lang Dance Theatre, and Bella Lewitzky Dance Company. She ran her own modern dance company in New York City for 9 years, performing nationally and internationally. As a figure skater, Harrington has performed, taught, and choreographed for The Ice Theater of New York, and coached for Sky Rink, NYC and Figure Skating in Harlem. Her artistic and scholarly collaboration with dance artist and educator Nadra Assaf from Lebanon has led to performances and conferences in Sweden, Beirut, Malta, and Geneva, New York. Her scholarship has been published by Dancer Citizen, Nordic Journal of Dance, Journal of Dance Education, Beauty Demands, and Dance Education in Practice.