Between The Lines






'To understand a concept, to grasp the meaning of the words which express it, is always at least to learn what the rules are which govern the use of such words and so to grasp the role of the concept in language and social life’ – Alasdair MacIntyre

 

 


The Module 1 focussed BAPP discussion group on Monday 28th September was an extremely intriguing one. I had planned to come to the session with a specific idea - to talk about the use of language in my practice. However, over the course of the discussion my thoughts changed, as did my discussion topic. 

 

Another participant was keen to discuss the impact of Web 2.0, in particular social media, on the dance industry (especially during COVID-19), having recently watched ‘The Social Dilemma’ (Jeff Orlowski) on Netflix. The conversation was full of varied opinions from multiple perspectives, ranging from current performers, who felt social media was their only way of self-marketing given the current climate and perhaps saw it as a ‘necessary evil’ in the advancement of their careers, to teachers who felt it was detrimental to students’ ability to concentrate. I remember this particular argument striking a chord with me, and made me question whether given the immediacy of the internet, is there the possibility that in the future audiences will not be able to concentrate on live theatre, and hence will become indifferent to it?

 

The conversation then moved more into the realm of representation in terms of race and identity in major West End shows, and from there into a discussion on how race, nationality and identity are perceived in the UK. One participant pointed out the key difference between asking someone you suspect to be of foreign origin, ‘Where are you from?’ versus ‘What is your heritage?’. This excellent point linked in with my initial idea of how language is used in professional practice, however I had never considered looking at it through this lens. Furthermore, I thought it could be very interesting to investigate how language relating to race, ethnicity and nationality is used in the dance world, and the impact this has on members of the community. It made me question whether seemingly innocent and flippant comments describing certain works of choreography or dance styles could actually hold a much deeper and more discriminatory meaning. I also started to wonder whether contemporary dance could be moving in a direction whereby different cultures were perhaps being exploited by companies and choreographers under the guise of ‘inclusion’ and ‘diversity’. Finally I wondered whether I as a white person have ever been complicit in this, which spurred me on to ponder how much of my practice is influenced by my own white privilege. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MacIntyre, A. (1997). A Short History of Ethics: A History of Moral Philosophy from the Homeric Age to the 20thCentury. 2nd ed. 

Taylor and Francis Group. 

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