Dancing the Other in South Africa

Auslander (2006) states that images generated from performance documentation and practices stemming from performance to camera could be considered ‘performative’ if they are meant to be seen as happening in the ‘now’ they are viewed, with the spectator as the current intended audience. This thesis takes Auslander’s supposition and situates the term performativity within an established academic discourse as a social, political or cultural ‘doing’ and questions what, apart from performing, performance ‘does’ in its transcription to a photographic image. I propose a ‘doing’ occurs because the intentional performance of a given act invokes the power of citation, in turn setting in motion broader cultural references. The contribution to knowledge this thesis makes is the proposition that aspects of the agency of performativity cannot be fully present in the moment of performance, but can be subsequently revealed by the photographic image as it affords the differance [distance/deferral] the spectator requires to consider the action within a wider structural unconsciousness. 

Originating from a conceptualist tradition of using ‘art as experiment’, the hypothesis is tested heuristically using a practice-based method of performance to camera. This is presented in the manner of autoethnographic fieldwork, which explores the time-based tensions between performance and photography in three different ways. Firstly, through instantaneous performance actions and the subsequent withdrawal of motion in the still image; secondly, the staging of one-off performance interventions and how they are perceived outside of the time and place in which they occurred via the photograph; and lastly, how repetition is used as a visual device to allow the spectator to ‘revisit’ their framework of understanding. By connecting critical reflection of these photographic investigations to theoretical perspectives, each chapter concludes how viewing the performance outside of the live act in the form of a photograph uncovers the ‘doing’ of its performativity. 

The final conclusion reviews why performativity surpasses the presence/absence binary previously perceived in photographic documentation, and how we might revise our usage of the term ‘performative’ in the area of performance to camera and studies of performance documentation in the light of these discoveries.

Performance, Photography, Performativity: What performance 'does' in the still image

Physical education, or HPE, is arguably a very queer space not only in the daily practices between students and teachers in schools but also in the broader field. This paper explores theoretical interactions with the HPE field in terms of the development and employment of queer theory, and links between associated sexualities and pedagogy research in HPE. I begin by (not) defining queer theory, its emergence and development. In short, I argue that the absence of queerness in HPE is very queer indeed! I address some of the significant fields of (non)influence dominating or marginalized in HPE research before identifying potential shifts to imagine what a queer pedagogy of movement or physical culture might look like in HPE as a point for further debate.

What a queer space is HPE, or is it yet? Queer theory, sexualities and pedagogy

This article makes a case for connecting knowledge of the sense(s) of self-movement with understanding psychology’s subject matter in terms of relations It first outlines the history of the sense 

Kinaesthesia and a Feeling for Relations

Physical activity is typically part of public health weight management programmes in the UK, but despite critical debate about obesity science and discourse, fatness and physical activity, the focu...

Weight stigma, fat pedagogy and rediscovering the pleasures of movement: experiencing physical activity and fatness in a public health weight management programme

Informed by reflective narration of one of the authors this chapter explores ways in which his career in dance has been challenged through mental ill health and the physical and emotional disruptions of age. The aim is to ‘position’ the performer as self, writer and researcher researched. Through the process the reader glimpses a reflexive dialogue concerned with transitions in ‘identity’ traced through embodied memory, dancing nostalgia, loss, reluctance, mental illness, and difference. 

In framing what they call a 'lifespan model', Myers, Sweeney and Witmer define wellness as '…a way of life oriented toward optimal health and well-being in which the body, mind, and spirit are integrated … to live more fully…”(1998: ). In order to explore this realm we engage with a construction of selves, where performance is not separated from the experience gained in making meaning of life, to paraphrase Kaprow and Kelly (1992). Our interest is to embrace realms of personal knowledge through appraising being-embodied and being-imaged and where being multiple and being singular tasks us with the curious phenomena of self-recognition. To address the affective resonance of self-recognition Being in Pieces utilises the material archive from the performances and installations of Falling Apart at the Seams (2008), Council House Movie Star (2012) and Dying Swans (2013) by delving into a distant dancing self and the somatic archaeology of performing past(s) retrieved, re-negotiated and re-languaged.

Being in Pieces: Integrating Dance, Identity and Mental Health

Purpose – The over-arching purpose of this paper is to provide a reflexive personal narrative of the inequalities experienced as the author grew up with a desire to dance; personal experiences which influenced the author to become an educator and eventually led the author to engage in some active research on the issue of boys and dance in secondary schools in the north of England. Design/methodology/approach – This project is based on narrative interviews with young males, as the researchers seek to assess the current landscape of dance education within the UK. Interviews were conducted within two high school settings. Yet, this paper does not focus on the data produced in such interviews. Instead, it adopts a reflective methodology in terms of auto-critiquing the inquiry, exploring themes such as dancing negativity, homophobia and homonormativity. Findings – The paper offers a brief critique of the literature around long-standing cultural ingrained discrimination experienced by boys who dance. Finally, a...

Stop prancing about: boys, dance and the reflective glance

This book is an anthology of Mark Edward’s creative practice-led projects. It transmits and communicates his research through varied artistic means, primarily contemporary dance, immersive art installation, drag performance, and photography. Through the innovative practice of 'mesearch', in which the author is both theoriser and theorised, this study delivers a personal, creative narration, combining reflections and emotions in relation to self and performance. Instead of being an attempt to undervalue or challenge the accepted notions of style within academic research, it promotes a freedom of expression which allows greater fluidity between the researcher, the performer, and the writer.

Mesearch and the Performing Body

Qualitative research embraced a reflexive turn in the 1970s and 1980s and since that time has been particularly useful for exploring the experiences of nonnormative individuals. This chapter explores the ethical value of “queer literacy,” which allows readers intending on undertaking work with LGBT+ groups to have a nuanced understanding of various nonheterosexual and noncisgender identifications. There is the potential for there to be anxiety around contemporary discussions of gender/sexuality often due to the variety of terms used, as well as concerns for sensitivity when engaging with intimate details of others’ experiences. The aim of queer literacy is to equip readers with the ability to form knowledge and to develop understanding in order to engage with queer experiences. This allows researchers of LGBT+ lives to discuss issues confidently, accurately, and critically.

The themes emerging from this discussion of queer literacy include identification, authenticity, representation, and visibility, all of which are important when engaging with nonnormative lives. For LGBT+ individuals, authenticity is often perceived as achievable through self-representation and visibility: “coming out.” Yet, in terms of ethics, visibility is problematized because of the real concern for possible prejudice-based attacks on participants. This chapter takes the heat out of such concerns by shedding light on how to engage effectively with LGBT+ groups. Finally, the chapter argues how queer literate ethical researchers of/with LGBT+ communities must adhere to Viviane Namaste’s three key principles of relevance, equity in partnership, and ownership when conducting ethical ethnographic research.

Mark Edward

Papers

Being in Pieces: Integrating Dance, Identity and Mental Health

Stop prancing about: boys, dance and the reflective glance

Mesearch and the Performing Body

Queer Literacy: Visibility, Representation, and LGBT+ Research Ethics

Being in Pieces