Dance and Theory

Both the identity of dance and that of theory are at risk as soon as the two intertwine. This anthology collects observations by choreographers and scholars, dancers, dramaturges and dance theorists in an effort to trace the multiple ways in which dance and theory correlate and redefine each other: What is the nature of their relationship? How can we outline a theory of dance from our particular historical perspective which will cover dance both as a practice and as an academic concept? The contributions examine which concepts, interdependencies and discontinuities of dance and theory are relevant today and promise to engage us in the future. They address crucial topics of the current debate in dance and performance studies such as artistic research, aesthetics, politics, visuality, archives, and the "next generation."

Gabriele Brandstetter is Professor of Theatre and Dance Studies at the Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany, and Director of the Institute for Movement Research. Her research fields are theory of re-presentation, concepts of body and movement in writing, visuals and performance and research on dance and theatricality. Gabriele Klein is Professor of Sociology of Movement and Dance and Director of Performance Studies at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Her research fields are social and political theory of dance, choreography and performance, body and gender politics, urban and transnational dance cultures.