Before I jump into my regular blog posts I thought I would compile a short list of terms and vocabulary that will be helpful to know while reading my content. I have separated this list by dance industry terms, social issues, and queer vocabulary that I will use in tandem with each other in upcoming posts.
Choreography: The sequence of steps and movements in dance. The artist creating the sequence of movements is referred to as the choreographer or dance maker.
Performance Art: An art form that combines visual art with dramatic performance. Dancers that participate in this type of work are referred to as performance artists.
WIP: A work in progress, usually a dance that is in the rehearsal process.
Concert Dance: A style performed as entertainment or ceremony for a non-participating audience that usually occurs on a stage or in a theater. Almost any style of dance can be presented in a concert dance setting but some genres lend themselves better to the theater such as ballet and contemporary dance.
Site Specific Dance: Dance that occurs outside of the conventional theater space, which challenges choreographers to look at, listen to, feel, and think about the space in which the dance is performed.
Patriarchy: A system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.
White Supremacy: The belief, theory, or doctrine that white people are inherently superior to people from all other racial and ethnic groups, especially Black people, and are therefore rightfully the dominant group in any society.
Homophobia: Dislike of or prejudice against gay people.
Gender Binary: A system of gender classification in which all people are categorized as being either male or female. The gender binary is an exclusionary perspective that does not recognize gender as fluid or existing on a spectrum.
Cisgender (cis): A cisgender person is one whose gender assigned at birth is the same as their gender identity.
Transgender (trans): A person whose gender assigned at birth is different from their gender identity. Transgender is an umbrella term that includes non-binary, genderqueer, and gender fluid people.
Non-binary: An adjective describing a person who does not identify exclusively as a man or a woman. Non-binary people may identify as being both a man and a woman, somewhere in between, or as falling completely outside these categories. While many also identify as transgender, not all non-binary people do.
Queer: A term referring to anyone who is not cisgender and/or homosexual. Queer has historically been used in a derogatory context, but has since been reclaimed by the LGBTQIA+ community.
Gender Expression: The way in which a person expresses their gender identity, typically through their appearance, dress, and behavior.
In this blog I will be focusing on the choreographic elements of dance and how the industry navigates gender in western dance traditions such as ballet and modern dance. These techniques are rooted in a binary perspective of gender and are actively working to dismantle their patriarchal values. I may also touch on the African diaspora and its dance forms such as jazz, tap, hip-hop, breaking, etc. and how these forms can be more or less inclusive of performers holding identities outside of the gender binary.
I hope this short list helped clarify some of the terms I will be using throughout my writing.
Thanks for stopping by!
- Kennedy
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