“Dancer as collaborator, co-author, co-owner, co-creator: power relations between dancer and choreographer”

ABSTRACT

In contemporary concert dance, the efforts and creative powers of dancers can be overlooked and devalued against those of the choreographer. Might a binary relationship between the mind and the body haunt the relationship between the choreographer and dancer with the looming specter of a female body that is obedient, fertile, and shaped? This article explores whether dancers in contemporary concert dance should be credited in the choreographic process, creation of a technique, and in performance when they have actively contributed to the creative process. Weaving in my autoethnography examining my experiences as a dancer and choreographer in New York City, this article explores different models of working and creating engaging with the scholarship of dance practitioners and philosophy, dance, and feminist scholars. Seeing through a Marxist and Feminist lens, power relations are examined between choreographers and dancers, unraveling how these relations result in who is credited and whose labor and precarity is recognized. The trope of dancers, specifically female dancers, being mere instruments or muses is deconstructed in the re-examination of the relationship between modern dance pioneers Lester Horton and Bella Lewitzky.

KEYWORDS:

• Choreographic process
• feminism
• dance history
• collaboration
• contemporary dance
• choreographic credit

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

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 Martha Graham Ensemble, Pearl Lang Dance Theatre, and Bella Lewitzky Dance Company. She created her own contemporary dance company performing nationally and internationally. Her interest in dance in the MENA region has led to teaching and choreographing in Tunisia and Lebanon. Her artistic and scholarly collaboration with Lebanese dancer and scholar Nadra Assaf has led to performances, articles, and conferences across the globe. Her scholarship has been published by Choreographic Practices, Dancer Citizen, Nordic Journal of Dance, Journal of Dance Education, and Dance Education in Practice.