Dance Aesthetics and Criticism
The philosophical study of dance as art and the practice of evaluating and writing about dance.
Definition
The philosophical inquiry into dance as art and the critical practice of interpreting and evaluating dance performance.
Scope
This topic covers the aesthetics of dance, including questions of what dance is, how it expresses and means, and how it relates to other arts, alongside the practice of dance criticism in which performances are described, interpreted, and evaluated. It draws on philosophy of art and the tradition of critical writing about dance performance.
Core questions
- What kind of art is dance, and how does it mean and express?
- On what grounds can a dance performance be evaluated?
- What is the role and responsibility of the dance critic?
Key concepts
- expression
- aesthetic appreciation
- interpretation
- evaluation
- the dance work
Key theories
- Dance as an art of intentional action
- A philosophical account treating dance works as objects of understanding whose appreciation depends on grasping conventions, intentions, and the action being performed rather than mere physical movement.
History
Philosophical attention to dance, long marginal in aesthetics, grew in the late twentieth century as scholars argued for dance as a distinct art form, while a parallel tradition of dance criticism developed in the press and specialist journals to describe and evaluate performance.
Debates
- What is happening when someone dances
- Philosophers debate whether dance should be understood as expressive movement, as intentional action embedded in convention, or as ordinary activity transfigured, a question framed by exchanges over Beardsley's account of dance.
Key figures
- Graham McFee
- Noël Carroll
- Deborah Jowitt
- Monroe Beardsley
Related topics
Seminal works
- mcfee1992
- jowitt1988
Frequently asked questions
- How is dance criticism different from dance theory?
- Dance criticism evaluates and interprets specific performances, often for a public readership, while dance theory develops general frameworks for understanding dance; the two inform one another.