3 Introduction 4 Dance and Feminism

Throughout the history of dance, the female dancer has played a critical role. Entire ballets were created for the simple idea of displaying the woman. Described as a “feminine art,” dance was used as a platform for the visibility of women on a societal level. However, the male gaze, for so many years, controlled the visibility given to female dancers. Through my analyses I found that this gaze did not necessarily lessen, but was instead challenged by the feminist perspective, allowing new representations of women to be viewed on a larger scale. Although not as blatantly obvious as before, the male gaze is still present. I found it fascinating to analyze the hetero-normative The Four Temperaments after the groundbreaking The Rite of Spring for the very reason that, although there was progress happening socially and culturally, traditional gender norms still very much existed in what, at the time, was considered “contemporary art.” This was crucial to uncover because it is this cultural compliance with traditional thought that robs the artist of freedom, autonomy, and truth. This is not to say that all of Balanchine’s work was robbed of truth, autonomy or artistic freedom by any means; rather, that when he complied with his engrained traditional gender stereotypes, he continued to perpetuate these norms and failed to address the multi-faceted, complexity of human nature in each of his dancers.

John F. Kennedy astutely observed the need for freedom and support when creating art. By referring to freedom, choice, and agency within art, perhaps unintentionally, he referred to equality of the artists themselves. Complete individuality and agency in any realm cannot exist without the presence of equality.

The coexistence of feminist and antifeminist movement is still present today, however, it is very different. Female choreographers have done their part in confronting the male gaze in performance art, removing it, or utilizing it to an extreme to reveal its harm. Dark Matters contributes to the process of removing the male gaze, and replacing it with feminist undertones. Over the years, this awareness has spread, invigorating many dancers and choreographers alike: from Nijinsky, to Graham, to Pite. The difference in the roles that women occupy in Giselle compared to Rite of Spring is drastic. The roles occupied by women in Giselle versus Dark Matters are even more drastic. This evolution of feminism, acceptance of progressive social norms, and depth with which the complexity of the human condition is described, are represented in my analyses, as well as in my Piece. This evolution throughout art is telling of the ultimate goal: to be more connected, to recognize our humanity in others, to represent the entire spectrum of our humanity, and allow for duality to exist.

As John F. Kennedy wisely noted, art is what nourishes the roots of culture. The importance placed on individual ability, intelligence, and creative agency is thus, in turn, helping to nourish art. It is the freedom of the artist, made possible by artists and activists in decades past, that helps to produce truth, instead of recycled, socially conditioned norms. In short, it is the freedom of the artist that creates the freedom in society, inspiring growth, change, and evolution. In my piece, the relationship between Internal and External help to inspire and encourage change with one another. This inverse relationship that exists within my piece is symbolic of the inverse relationship that inspires change and nourishment for cultural evolution and art; in order for art to nourish the roots of culture as John F. Kennedy so eloquently stated, art must, in turn, be nourished through the acceptance and evolution of these cultural norms.

Works Cited

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