The pedagogy of the observed: how does surveillance technology influence dance studio education?

Abstract

A local trend in commercial dance studio education is the implementation of real-time digital video surveillance. This case study explores how digital video cameras in the dance studio environment affect asymmetrical power relationships already present in the commercial studio setting, as well as how surveillance impacts feminist pedagogical strategies. The panoptic mechanism in the commercial studio discussed in this case study consists of studio video cameras with live feed to monitors in the waiting area, the front desk area, as well as the director’s office. This research seeks to initiate a discussion regarding how such mediation may intensify the already panoptic atmosphere of a dance studio. Survey results indicate some emphasis placed by the parents on their positionality as client-consumers, as well as their desire to be involved in their children’s dance education, which results in their support of the surveillance. Qualitative research reveals how the teachers’ feminist pedagogical strategies are affected by video surveillance. This research adds a new dimension to the discussion around the panopticism of dance studios by focusing on an audience mediated though digital video cameras.

Keywords:

• surveillance
• feminist pedagogy
• dance