Global Contexts of Dance Labour
Andi Johnson &
Sicarú Vásquez, Ph.D.
Introduction
We are excited to present the first bilingual (Spanish–English) edition of Chats! This publication is the result of a collaboration between colleagues Sicarú Vásquez, Ph.D. (Universidad Iberoamericana, Ciudad de México) and Andi Johnson (De Montfort University, United Kingdom). We proposed this topic after a year of discussion with friends and colleagues around the globe about the difficulties of conducting dance research in their home countries and the need to work and publish in English. These stories often arose within the limited available spaces that allowed multi-lingual and international access to academic networking and engagement such as the DSA annual conference in 2024 (Cartographies of Movement) hosted in Argentina with community-supported translation services, and Dancing with Decolonisation’s1 past few years of online research conferences (coordinated by the authors of this introduction), which have worked with translation technologies to encourage multi-lingual engagement. Yet, dance and movement research practices continue to develop from a global presence despite—and perhaps informed by—the difficulties encountered by researchers and practitioners. Our hope for this edition is that the international narratives that follow may continue to inspire dance research practitioners across the world to keep developing their work while adding to the current dialogue around how dance as a field can be resilient in difficult times2. Through a series of international “chats,” we continue exploring solutions for producing academic and artistic work in dance with limited support.
In this introduction, we briefly recount Sicarú Vásquez’s experiences as a researcher and scholar in México City, which is one of the stories that inspired this edition. Cultural and artistic research in Mexico has been historically complex. Although the government offers some educational programmes, such as a master’s degree in dance research, these opportunities are limited and geographically centralised. In some cases, researchers and practitioners pursue careers in other disciplines like history and art history to approach dancing from alternative perspectives. As an art history scholar, Sicarú has confronted challenges integrating the performing arts through approaches like philosophy and cultural studies—fields that have historically broadened the scope of visual arts. Despite its presence across other disciplines, the dance field struggles to be recognised as a central subject of academic study. Spanish-speaking Latinx scholars not only face challenges in conducting dance-centered research, but to connect with peers globally, they often must write in English or French to publish or present at conferences. The issue of English as the centralised working language in academia, or lingua franca, is further highlighted by Ana Christina Suzina (2020), recognising that often working in English is not a choice, but a necessity within academic professions. By working through Spanish-English translation as an intervention, this edition of Chats is able to support the dance scholar contributors who have faced similar challenges raising their voices while working in Spanish.
In Argentina, Mariana Sáez and Juliana Verdenelli examine the devaluation of academic knowledge in dance across Latin America, while recognising that the difficulties faced by researchers may generate new forms of knowledge production through resistance. Their essay highlights the limits and pressures placed upon dance researchers to engage in more than research-based practices to survive in a project-based economy. In response, they propose reframing questions about the challenges dancers face in order to find possible solutions.
Tanatchaporn Kittikong and Vipavinee Artpradid interview Thailand-based choreographer Jitti Chompee regarding his efforts to preserve Khon, Thailand’s classical masked dance-drama, through projects that foster accessibility for both artists and audiences. The conversation explores how the performance has adapted over time to engage with contemporary culture while reintroducing people to Thailand’s historical performance practices. Through Chompee’s initiatives, the landscape of dance in Thailand has expanded to support different forms of dance and performance education.
Caterina Giangrasso Angrisani from Italy discusses the lack of national support for contemporary dance and the ways cultural managers mitigate this gap. Using examples from cultural management, Angrisani demonstrates through personal experience how cultural managers develop solutions and generate knowledge related to dance production and performance. Angrisani also highlights how cultural management intersects with the practice of academic research.
Finally, at the northern Mexican border, Ciudad Juárez, Luis Mendoza and Javier Bustamante conducted interviews with local dancers to explore how they sustain professional careers in dance despite the lack of cultural support and recognition of dance’s contribution to the community. Through a combination of discussions and a performance, the video illustrates how dancers have pursued professional careers in their local community. The video celebrates the resilience of dancers who continue to create cultural value through their work.
The intersection of artistic production and research, which is unique to the arts, emerges as a common thread in these chats. Although frequently approached as two separate strains of practice outside artistic disciplines, within the arts, artistic production is framed as practice-based research that may generate new knowledge. Sáez and Verdenelli discuss how dance knowledge production is not confined to classical outputs acknowledged by academia. Instead, it may require and propose entirely different structures, inviting us to reconsider our understanding of what constitutes research outputs. Meanwhile, Angrisani explores how her work as a cultural manager aligns with recognised Western research practices and at the same time engages with non-Western knowledge production.
The conditions of cultural production and the disconnect between the artists and the local communities are also recurring narratives in this edition of Chats. Mendoza and Bustamante, together with their interviewees, highlight the lack of support, resources, and infrastructure to train as dancers and performers in Ciudad Juárez, while also exploring how such infrastructure might be developed. Artpradid and Kittikong along with Chompee examine the ways an art form may be cultivated and explored even when there is not much of an overall interest within the community. The authors and practitioners aim to understand how dance may continue to thrive under resistant conditions.
Across these contributions there is a recurring call to action to reconsider prevalent mindsets around cultural production practices within communities. Sáez and Verdenelli encourage us to move our focus from what is missing within the cultural and academic sector to the ways we construct sustainable practices. Angrisani calls for a reconceptualisation of “agency, leadership, and value in the performing arts” that embrace alternative knowledge systems beyond those traditionally valued in academia or cultural production. The interviews conducted by Mendoza and Bustamante propose the need for new perspectives in Ciudad Juárez to reconsider the cultural role and professionalisation of dance. Artpradid and Kittikong, together with Chompee, explore the ways traditional practices adapt to provide access to a broader range of practitioners and audiences. These shifts also encourage us—practitioners worldwide—to rethink how we engage with the production, practice, and research of dance and how we connect with communities to build a more sustainable future for dance.
Ultimately, these contributions problematize the perception of value that dance-related labour brings to communities. While the broader public may regularly engage with dance, they often overlook the societal contributions practitioners make through their practice, training, and education. And yet, dancers are still able to find ways to carry on their artistic practices. By engaging with this international dialogue, readers may recognise parallels in their own local communities—or, at least, be reminded that dance can adapt to and endure challenging conditions. In the coming years, most governments will likely need to adjust how they engage with dance artists and address the persistent lack of public-sector support if they want the artform to continue to endure. Together, we must create sustainable and innovative strategies to support dance practices within local communities.
Biographies
Sicarú Vásquez, Ph.D.
She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Art History in 2013, a Master’s degree in Art Studies in 2018, and a Ph.D. in the History and Critical Theory of Art in 2022, all from the Universidad Iberoamericana. She has worked as a registrar at the National Museum of Art and as a cultural manager in private organizations. Her research focuses on dance representation, visual culture, imaginaries, and identities. She is the head of the Dance Studies and 19th-Century Seminars at Ibero. She is a member of the Dance Studies Association and the Dancing with Decolonization Conference board. She is also a member of the National Council of Dance and the Dance Research Network in Mexico. She coordinates the BA in Art History program and is an academic manager in the Art Department at Universidad Iberoamericana. She is the author of the book: Re-thinking the 19th Century: New Art History Approaches.
Andi Johnson
Andi Johnson is a 3rd year PhD student at De Montfort University working on constructing a framework of practice for dance organisations to develop their own archives. Their work approaches live archiving for organisational use and development outside of GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museum) institutions. As part of a collaborative doctoral award, their research work is embedded within Fabric, a dance development organisation based in the midlands of England.
References
Pewny, Katharina, Annelies Van Assche, Simon Leenknegt, and Rebekah J. Kowal, eds. 2019. “Work With(Out) Boundaries: Precarity and Dance.” Dance Research Journal 51 (1).
Salzbrunn, Monika, and Ana Laura Rodríguez Quiñones, eds. 2024. “Migrating through the Arts: Deconstructing Alterities through New Approaches to Music and Dance Practices.” New Diversities 25 (1). https://doi.org/10.58002/sd23-ey45
Suzina, Ana Cristina. 2021. “English as Lingua Franca. Or the Sterilisation of Scientific Work.” Media, Culture & Society 43 (1): 171–179. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720957906
Footnotes
- International conference created by researchers, dancers and choreographers from across the world. Andi Johnson and Sicarú Vásquez are members of the organizing committee. ↩︎
- A couple recent examples outside of DSA initiatives include the New Diversities issue “Migrating through the arts” and Dance Research Journal issue “Work With(Out) Boundaries: Precarity and Dance”. ↩︎