If life is what happens to our plans, then dance is what happens to our steps.
ideas sometimes when you wait they come to you.

Preparation for starting with BAPP

Monday 5 November 2018

Exploring your practice through ethical questions: ethical considerations

Thinking about ethical questions leads to different ways to better understand your practice. Exploring these ethical considerations leads to ‘big’ questions within your practice – such as questions about gender, rights, cultures.

Here is a talk where Trevor Copp and Jeff Fox talk about their practice. Questioning their practice and their experiences led them to questions about gender and identity.   

Your art form tells the story (or the text) of the principles of the society from which it has developed. Concepts for things such as gender, power, age, relationship with community emerge in the practices of any group of people.

Watch this ted talk by Trevor Copp & Jeff Fox that talks about the assumed principles behind their dance form. The point of watching this video is to recognise that our practices reflects the cultural values of a society at a particular time and place it stems from.


Think of questions you can ask when you watch something from the field of your practice that will help you be more aware of the nuances of the culture and history with in your practice.  You may not be sensitive to thinking about these questions because you come from the same perspective as the mainstream expectations of your art form. You assume what things mean. As you engage with the ideas of ethical questions you can see that what we assume about other people has more to do with us than it does with them! This is significant for planning your inquiry (in ACI3622 Module Two) and analysing your data (in ACI3633 Module Three). In some ways, you need to be able to observe yourself noticing the situations the inquiry creates.
What 'big' questions are you coming across? 
Please comment or post addresses to post where you discuss this...

https://www.ted.com/talks/trevor_copp_jeff_fox_ballroom_dance_that_breaks_gender_roles?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

https://www.ted.com/talks/trevor_copp_jeff_fox_ballroom_dance_that_breaks_gender_roles?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

1 comment:

  1. Within my practice this makes me think of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance Standard Ballet syllabus. Developed many years ago, one exercise in the music section is occupational gestures. The children have to listen to the music and perform an occupation. The examples often used mother swaying a baby, or secretary on a typewriter. I am guilty of teaching this very old fashioned example but upon thinking on Trevor Copp and Jeff Fox's statement " Make it more representative of our era and our current way of being" not only do I need to "update this old paradigm" I think an update to the current syllabus is required. However this is now happening across the Tap syllabus and higher grades within Modern. I also wanted to add that the gender roles within dance are now being questioned and changes are being celebrated. Very mainstream but Kevin Clifton and Stacey Dooley on Strictly Come Dancing performed Lead Liquid Thinking just 2 weeks ago to much commendation.

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