The lecturer will present the history of dance studies, outline the main areas of research, and explain the unique nature of the knowledge produced by choreographers and dance theorists, as well as the difficulties the researchers face.
Though dance history is as old as the hills, dance has long been under the radar of the humanities. Its ephemeral nature, body as the main medium, sensuality and low social status did not contribute to the theoretical insights. Only in the second half of the twentieth century, when humanities ceased to ignore the body experience, dance made its way to cultural studies. Soon dance studies emerged as a separate discipline which we will talk about at the lecture. We will discuss the theoretical approaches to rethinking dance and their difference from other art research tools.