post-structuralist dance
doug fox asked me for examples of post-structuralist dance. but few artists make post-structuralist work; contemporary practice is usually postmodern, with features of post-structuralism.
instead of video, i’ll give a basic overview of post-structuralist trends. understand the principles, and you can observe/discover examples for yourself. listen to what artists say about their process/work, and how they want you to engage with it.
structuralism
in structuralism, meaning is contained within the practice/object. as such it holds a fundamental truth for all readers. a detailed and isolated observation of the object, will lead to comprehension of meaning. the creator of an object directly authors its meaning.
post-structuralism
in post-structuralism meanings are found by the reader, and outside the practice/object. links a reader makes between objects, result in subjective shifting ‘truths’. the social, cultural, historical contexts of the reader, will affect the meanings and ‘truths’ they find. in the absence of an absolute position, readings can be self contradictory.
the creator of an object, looses total ‘authorship’ but not relevance. whilst they do not write the ‘true meaning’, their personal contexts have affected the creation of the object. examining the various facets of an ‘artists’ life leads us to more readings and ‘truths’.
artist (performer) audience
post-structuralism remind the artist that they are not the only location of meaning. both audience and performer actively interpret and create meanings. every individual will find something different in the work. artists exploit this situation to avoid (over) explaining their work.
the de-centering of meaning/truth is not restricted to personal contexts. physical contexts also lead to divergent meanings. e.g., being able to perform ballet vocabulary will affect your reading of a ballet. even location has an impact; seeing a work at ‘eye level’ you may not notice the patterns a ‘birds-eye view’ gives. each view, and your perception of other audience members, will result in different readings.
alongside these concerns, artists must reconsider how they make objects. in the absence of a universal ‘truth’, each work much be approached uniquely. the artist strive to understand the ‘self’ and how it affects their reading/writing of objects.
central to this understanding of ‘self’ is a deconstructive and phenomenological approach. the artist ‘deconstructs’ objects and their links (intertexts) to observe how they experience them (the phenomena of being). this leads to a multitude of interrelated meanings and ‘truths’. the artist will then synthesize their ‘truth’/meaning/phenomena links into a new collection of objects (the work). then they helps the performer(s) find their own ‘self’, meanings and ‘truths’ within the work.
artists ‘authors’ the score/structure, performers ‘author’ their performance, audiences ‘author’ their own meanings from the performance and structure.
locating contexts
the rejection of ‘traditional’ methods/forms is postmodernist, rather than post-structuralist. for the post-moderns, all methods are of equal value and be exploited. for the post-structuralist, personal experience/context is more important than method/form.
divergent use of other disciplines terminology (as a form of metalanguage), is post-structuralist. the intention is to (re)claim new readings/’truths’ from structuralist knowledge, and build new intertexts.
deconstruction for critique (taking apart to find new readings) is different to compositional deconstruction (taking apart to reorder), and deconstructivist choreography (disrupting the form/structure but retaining function).
in dance theory, post-structuralism is used to re-read/re-write critical perspectives. cultural, historical, social, political and gender narratives, have been foregrounded to offer alternative ‘truths’. however, this type of study is also dependent on postmodern theory and concepts.
further reading
Belsey, C., (2002). Poststructuralism: A Very Short Introduction.
Burt, R., (2007). The Male Dancer:Bodies, Spectacle, Sexualities [2nd Edition].
Lepecki, A., (2006). Exhausting Dance: Performance and the Politics of Movement.
Martusewicz, R., (2001). Seeking Passage: Post-structuralism, Pedagogy, Ethics.
Midgelow, L., (2008) Reworking the Ballet: Counter-Narratives and Alternative Bodies.
