Dance & Spectacle
Society of Dance History Scholars Annual
Conference, 2010 Dance History Scholars Annual Conference, 2010nce,
8th-11th July 2010
University of Surrey, Guildford & The Place, London, UK
Call for Proposals Submission Deadline: 2nd November 2009
Dance and spectacle exist in tension with each other. This conference
invites discussion of their related histories, aesthetics and politics. From
movement choirs in ancient Greece to the forms of spectacle in modern
Olympic ceremonies; from the Baroque ballets de cour to indigenous
corroboree; from protest sit-ins to Yvonne Rainer?s ?no to spectacle?, the
moving body exhibits meaning through choreographies of the visual.
Temporally situated between Beijing 2008 and the
London 2012 Olympics, and located close to the
metropolitan centre of London, this
interdisciplinary event will be a gathering of scholars, artists
and practitioners. Our goal is to engage with
dance practices, affect and theory, history and the
present in order to seek new and relevant
understandings of the relationship between dance
and spectacle.
We welcome conference papers, panels,
roundtables, workshops, films and performances from
artists and scholars that address the following, or related, questions:
? What does the idea of spectacle have to say
about dance and the act of looking?
? Is there a difference between the spectacle and the spectacular?
? Where exactly is the spectacular located in
dance/performance? Is it in the location of a performance,
the technical virtuosity of the dancers, the
moments of stillness, or the aural environment? What
makes something 'spectacular'?
? What other senses are incorporated in our
experience and understanding of the 'spectacular'? What
would a blind person's construction of spectacle be?
? What are the relationships between theories of
the spectacle and the spectacular and theories of dance?
? How has the spectacular been defined in the past? In dance or performance?
? How do popular dance forms engage, reify, or
subvert the powers of the visual?
? How does dance use the spectacular as a means
to achieve communication between performer and audience?
? What can the term spectacle mean as an
artistic and critical starting point when we find ourselves in a
full-blown 'spectacle society' (photography,
film, TV, digital media, global internet, social networking sites
such as You-Tube, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, et al.)?
? How has the refusal of spectacle been
mobilised in art practices, either productively or negatively?
? How are dance and spectacle used to hide
political tensions? In what ways is the artistic spectacle used to
point to the suppression of spectacles (of waste, war, and mass displacement?)
Society of Dance History Scholars Annual
Conference, 2010University of Surrey, Guildford & _e Place, London, UK
Dance & Spectacle Events
The conference marks a collaboration between the
University of Surrey, Guildford and The Place, London.
The Place is one of the leading training and
performance centers for contemporary dance in the United
Kingdom and during 2010 it celebrates its 40th
anniversary as an instrumental institution in the
development of British modern dance. The Place
has also acted as a host institution for University of
Surrey students in their professional training
placements and, in view of this long and close professional
relationship, the Saturday of the conference
will be sited at the Place and papers and performances will be
co-curated by its Artistic Director Eddie Nixon.
In addition, the University will host a series of events by
leading British artists engaged in explorations
of vertical, aerial and site-specific dance on campus and in
Guildford town centre and, since the conference
falls over the Big Dance week in London, performances
will be taking place in and around the capital
that conclude with a dance extravaganza at Trafalgar Square.
Dance & Spectacle Committee Members
The conference committee members include: Dr.
Melissa Blanco Borelli, University of Surrey;
Prof. Maaike A. Bleeker, University of
Amsterdam; Prof. Rachel Fensham (Chair), University of Surrey;
Prof. Angela Kane, University of Michigan; Dr.
Anthea Kraut, University of California Riverside;
Dr. Richard Semmens, The University of Western Ontario.
Graduate Awards and Grants for 2010
In recognition of Selma Jeanne Cohen's great
contributions to dance history, the Society of Dance
History Scholars inaugurated an award in her
name at its 1995 conference. The Selma Jeanne Cohen
Award aims to encourage graduate student members
of SDHS by recognizing excellence in dance
scholarship. Up to three awards will be offered
at each conference. Each award includes an invitation
to present a paper at the annual conference,
waiver of the registration fee for that conference, and a
grant to help defray costs of attending the
conference. Awards are based on the originality of the
research, the rigor of the argument, and the clarity of the writing.
Students interested in applying for the Selma
Jeanne Cohen Award should follow the regular guidelines
for conference submission and check the
appropriate box on the submission form. If the program
committee selects your proposal, a full-text
version of the paper will be due by 1 March 2010 at the
SDHS Office. The full-text version should be sent via email to (info /at/ sdhs.org).
The Society of Dance History Scholars offers
Graduate Student Travel Grants, aimed at encouraging
broad graduate student participation in its
annual conference. Each year three grants will be made to
graduate students to help defray the costs of
attending the annual conference. Applications for the next
round of Graduate Student Travel Grants are due
at the SDHS office by 1 March 2010. Please
download the application form from www.sdhs.org.
Although postal submissions may be sent to the
SDHS office at 3416 Primm Lane, Birmingham AL
35216, email submissions to (info /at/ sdhs.org) are strongly
encouraged.
For information on the submission of proposals,
consult the SDHS website at www.sdhs.org
8th-11th July 2010
University of Surrey, Guildford & _e Place, London, UK
