Reframing arguments about the value of contemporary dance: Putting creativity at the centre of dance practice, policy and education
Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: This paper is based on the eighth Ausdance Peggy Van Praagh Memorial Address, which I delivered at the World Dance Alliance Global Summit in Brisbane in July in 2008. It extends the arguments about the value of contemporary dance to Australia put forward in that address and frames them within the context of an increasingly prevalent creative industries discourse. At one level, the major challenge for contemporary dance is the same as all other performing arts sectors. It can be described in a single word: sustainability. The challenges of sustainability for contemporary dance spans education, policy, and cultural attitudes towards dance. Drawing upon accounts of contemporary dance as they are expressed in policy and academia, I argue that the notion of creativity should be at the centre of future debates about the value of contemporary dance. In this respect, I am arguing that we need to take a broad-based approach to the sustainability of contemporary dance and leverage creative industries discourse to promote the value of contemporary dance for its intrinsic, cultural, and economic benefits.
Author: Susan Street
Language: English
Subfield: Urban Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1545628169