shun labels“For the past two months, I have been publishing interviews with contemporary dance artists, trying to address (for both myself and my faithful readers) what exactly contemporary dance entails. Because, to be honest, I’ve always been a bit dubious about contemporary dance. It has seemed to me to be an umbrella term without any real delineations. But, through conducting several interviews with self-identified contemporary dance artists across the country, I think I’ve finally begun to wrap my head around the term.
“For those of you who want the cliff notes, these are some themes from the past two months of interviews that have stood out to me:
1) There seems to be two divergent strands of contemporary dance [in America] : Performance Art/ Dance Theatre & Commercial Dance
2) Varied Training: “Many of the dance artists interviewed said the ideal training for a contemporary dancer should include in-depth study of several different dance forms.”
3) DIY Funding: “From a funding perspective, the outlook is dismal. Companies are closing, grants are drying up, people are getting tired of crowdfunding, and the likelihood of a contemporary dancer enjoying an actual salaried career is nil. That being said, there are tons of DIY initiatives. The best advice, which came repeatedly, was to find another job that allows for flexibility, in essence funding your own work. This is what I personally do and what 90 percent of the dancers I know do. However, if this is the contemporary funding model for contemporary dance, it seems strangely regressive.”
4) Shun labels: “The best part about contemporary dance, as far as I can tell, is its willingness to shun labels. Like a true millennial, I don’t care much for labels myself. Categorizing oneself as a ballet dancer, modern dancer or hip hop dancer seems just as limiting as being a Balanchine dancer, Horton dancer or Cunningham dancer. Unlike dancers of previous generations, contemporary dancers wear the label of whatever dance form best defines the project they’re currently involved with.”
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“Post contemporary dance! Are we there yet? I hope this next era is all about dance as practice, dance as a form of community building, dance as expression, dance as healing, and dance that is more open to various socioeconomic platforms. Of course, there is something great about classical training and its rigor, as well as the study of dance in historical context and acknowledging what has been done and how it effects the codified forms we see now, but I hope the post contemporary era allows dance to continue to disperse throughout communities and be something people can engage with as a physical practice. I believe this will bring renewed interest into viewing as well!”
