30.09.23 — 14:00
CN D Pantin
14:00 – 35 min.
What happens after the Prix de Lausanne? Sociological perspectives on the careers of Prix winners and the aesthetic norms of ballet competitions.
by Laura Cappelle
International dance competitions are often pointed out in the international ballet world for the intense training they require for dancers from a very young age. However, the real impact of these competitions on the careers of dancers as well as the norms they contribute to shaping has received little attention so far; this paper analyzes the Prix de Lausanne from a sociological perspective, paying close attention to what participating in these competitions entails for young ballet dancers aged 15 to 18, and what impact winning the Prix has on these dancers’ professional careers. I will interrogate the correlation between winning the Prix and the longevity and progression of a dancer’s career, by studying quantitatively the careers of prizewinners between 1995 and 2000. Then I will compare this data with the Prix results between 2015 and 2020, and finally, from the list of the variations offered to participants in the two periods I’m focusing on, I will extend my analysis to the technical and aesthetic norms applied to the candidates, in order to understand what type of image of ballet is being promoted by this competition.
14:35 – 35 min.
Competing body matters [a case study as a starting point – Keir Choreographic Award (KCA)]
by Angela Conquet, Rebecca Hilton
Anchoring its argument in the Keir Choreographic Award (KCA), Australia’s only cash dance prize, this paper proposes a broader reflection on situatedness, localism and nationhood. Considering the jury’s international perspectives, the paper aims to locate situated, choreographic specificities and subjectivities as revealed, (mis)interpreted or challenged by the international jury gaze. Foregrounding the urgent need for renewed awareness of space as place, time as context, and choreography as choreo-politics of and for a territorialised body, this presentation considers dance competition as a transaction. It proposes to decipher this symbolic encoding in relation to local histories and politics while interrogating broader problematics of hegemonies of taste and assemblages of power with a view to propose a methodology of ‘judging’ choreography guided by concepts of cultural intelligence, Indigenous dramaturgies of aesthetic sovereignty and localised movement subjectivity.
15:30 – 35 min.
Eurovision Dances Competitions – a success or a failure? Critical analysis of the political and aesthetic context of the television dance competition
by Joanna Szymajda
The Eurovision for Young Dancers Contest has been existed since 1985. But the Eurovision format includes other dance-related competitions that have briefly entered the television space, such as the ballroom dance contest (Eurovision Dance Contest 2007 and 2008). In my paper, I would like to look at this form of televised dance competition in terms of a critical analysis of its political and aesthetic contexts. Eurovision contests are a form intended to promote “European values” popularised in an accessible form and with a wide reach. For some reason, however, dance-related competitions have neither gained such visibility nor engaged viewers as intensely as the song contest and the number of participating counties was small and unstable, ranging from 8 to 18 national operators per each edition. My aim would be to reflect in this framework on the potential of dance as a competitive, television material and on competitiveness as an aesthetic factor.
16:05 – 35 min.
Dance and the markets: the price of quantification. A reflection about the introduction of breakdance in the 2024 Olympics
by Anne Nguyen
The arrival of breakdance in the 2024 Olympics reveals how vulnerable individuals are faced with the entertainment market and highlights the gentrification of hip-hop culture. Current battles are held in front of an audience mostly composed of people who don’t know much about hip-hop, and whose reactions are important for the viability of an economy that depends on ticket sales and private sponsors, leading dancers to execute spectacular tricks, to prepare routines and forego improvisation. The media exposure and financial means deployed by major competitions are big motivating factors for young dancers; while those who have access to dance schools can prepare for competitions there, where are the kids from underprivileged neighborhoods? Access to knowledge, to the time required to learn and practice, to the necessary studio space to practice dance, remains a privilege. To what extent does the political fantasy image of breakers from minorities and underprivileged neighborhoods contribute to invisibilize certain emergent cultures?