WEST SUSSEX INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION Representations of aasculinity in theatre dance with special reference to British new dance. Rallsay Maxwell Barnes Burt Doctor of Philosophy, Dance Section March 1994 This thesis has been completed as a requirement for a higher degree of the University of southampton. WEST SUSSEX INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION an accredited college of the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT DANCE SECTION Doctor of Philosophy Representations of masculinity in theatre dance with special reference to British new dance. by Ramsay Maxwell Barnes Burt This thesis has been completed as a requirement for a higher degree of the University of Southampton. The phenomenon of 'new dance' has received little sustained study, either in terms of its own history or in terms of its efforts to reconstruct the representation of gender in dance. This study assesses the extent to which representations of masculinity in the work of British new dance artists have differed significantly from the ways in which masculinity has been represented in mainstream theatre dance. A theoretical framework is developed for analyzing dance which takes account of theories already in existence and examines them critically from an ideological perspective. Whereas almost all existing dance theories confine their examination of dance as art to an analysis of its formal and aesthetic properties, the framework developed in this study takes account of the social and historical conditions of production and reception of the dance. While there has been recent work on images of women, issues relating to the representation of masculinity in dance have not received attention. This study therefore examines the relationship between the social construction of masculinity and the conventions and traditions through which masculinity is represented in cultural forms including theatre dance. This extends existing theories of the social and historical construction of the male body. In order to establish the context and antecedents of British new dance, representations of masculinity within theatre dance are examined from specific periods between 1840 and the present. An analysis of selected pieces of choreography by new dance artists identifies the ways through which these artists have been critical of, and challenged, dominant norms of representing masculinity in cultural forms. By critically dismantling mainstream dance conventions and problematizing technical virtuosity in male dance, new dance artists brought about a situation in which a new relationship was defined between the dancer's body and the meaning of dance movement. In some cases new dance pieces challenge the spectator to reassess aspects of masculine identity and experience that are generally denied or rendered invisible in mainstream cultural forms. 2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .....••.•..•.....•..•..•.•..•..••.••..•.••..• 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ••••••.•••••••••••.••••••••••••••.•••••• 17 CHAPTER ONE BRITISH NEW DANCE 1.1 INTRODUCTION .......................•............ 18 1.2 THE DIFFICULTY OR DEFINING NEW DANCE •...•....... 20 1. 3 X6 AND NEW DANCE ................................ 23 1.4 OTHER NEW DANCE ARTISTS ...••.••..•............•. 31 1.5 MOVEMENT RESEARCH •.....•........................ 35 1.6 THE NEWNESS OF NEW DANCE •..•..••...••........... 43 1.7 NEW DANCE AS A CRITIQUE OF MODERNISM •........... 50 CHAPTER TWO DANCE THEORY AND REPRESENTATIONS 2 • 1 INTRODUCTION •..•••...••••••••••••.•••..•..•..••. 56 2.2 DANCE THEORY AND THE AUTONOMY OF THE AESTHETIC .. 59 2.3 AESTHETIC APPRECIATION AND FORMALIST AND MODERNIST THEORIES OF DANCE 2.3.1 INTRODUCTION. • . • . • • . • . • . .. 63 2.3.2 BALLET AND FORMALISM ...........•........... 64 2.3.3 MODERNISM AND FORMALISM •...•...•.....•..... 69 2.3.4 MODERNISM AND DANCE .•.•.......•......•.•.•. 72 2.3.5 REPRESENTATION AND EXPRESSION IN SUSANNE LANGER'S THEORY OF DANCE ••••..••...•...•••. 77 2.3.6 MARSHALL COHEN'S ATTACK ON LANGER'S THEORY 79 2.3.7 LANGER'S THEORY AND REPRESENTATIONS ..•..... 83 2.4 AFFECTIVE AND LINGUISTIC SYMBOLS IN DANCE 2. 4 • 1 INTRODUCTION. • • . • . • • • • . • . • • . • . • • . • • .. 85 2 • 4 • 2 NELSON GOODMAN ........•.................... 88 2.4.3 JUDITH LYNNE HANNA .••.•...•................ 92 2.4.4 SUSAN LEIGH FOSTER •...•.•••...••.•.•.•...•• 95 2.4.5 DISCOURSE, DANCE AND THE DANCER'S BODy ..... 98 2.5 RECEPTION AND INTERPRETATION OF DANCE WORKS 2.5.1 INTRODUCTION ..........•..............•..•. 101 2.5.2 RECEPTION OF AFFECTIVE SYMBOLS: HANNA & SHEETS- JOHNSTONE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 102 2.5.3 HERMENEUTICS AND THE RECEPTION OF DANCE .•• 106 2.6 CONCLUSION. • . • • . • . • . • . • • . • . • • . • .• 109 3 CHAPTER THREE GENDER REPRESENTATION AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF MASCULINITY 3 . 1 INTRODUCTION... .. 112 3.2 MEN, RATIONALITY AND EMOTIONALITY 3 . 2 . 1 INTRODUCTION. • . .. 115 3.2.2 DISMANTLING RATIONAL MASCULINITy .......... 116 3.2.3 RATIONALITY, EMOTIONALITY AND MASCULINITY 119 3.2.4 PSYCHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF MASCULINITY AND MALE DEVELOPMENTAL CONFLICTS · . .. 125 3.3 SOCIAL CONTEXTS OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF MASCULINITY 3.3.1 INTRODUCTION •.••.........•..••••••••••..•. 129 3.3.2 THE MODERN BODY ....•...................... 130 3.3.3 THE GENDERED BODY ........................ 132 3.3.4 TOUGHNESS AND MEN ........•................ 133 3.3.5 EMOTIONALITY, DANCE AND ARTISTIC GENIUS ••. 135 3.3.6 HOMOPHOBIA AND THE MALE DANCER .......•.... 137 3.4 NARRATIVE IDENTIFICATION AND GENDER REPRESENTATION IN THEATRE DANCE 3.4.1 INTRODUCTION ...•.......................... 140 3.4.2 THE GENDERED LOOK .................•.••.... 147 3.4.3 NARRATIVE STRUCTURE AND AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION · . .. 155 3.4.4 IDENTIFICATION AND DANCE THEATRE ..•.•..... 157 3.4.5 PROBLEMS OVER THE DISPLAY OF THE MALE BODY 159 3.5 DANCE AND PSYCHOANALYTICAL THEORIES OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF GENDER 3.5.1 INTRODUCTION •..........•..•.•..•......•... 166 3.5.2 OBJECTIFICATION AND FETISHIZATION ......... 167 3.5.3 PSYCHOANALYSIS AND NORMATIVE HETEROSEXUAL SEXUALITY ....•.•.......•.•....••.......... 170 3.5.4 FRENCH PSYCHOANALYTIC FEMINISM AND MARGINALITY · . .. 173 3.5.5 BOUNDARY-LESSNESS AND MALE DEVELOPMENTAL INSECURI TI ES ..........••••.•....•........• 176 3.5.6 MARGINALITY AND MOVEMENT RESEARCH ......... 181 3.6 CONCLUSION ..••..........•..•••..••••.••..••..•... 183 CHAPTER 4 TRADITIONS AND CONVENTIONS IN REPRESENTATIONS OF MASCULINITY IN BALLET AND MODERN DANCE 4 • 1 INTRODUCTION.. • • . • • . • • . • . • . • . .. 191 4.2 BALLET 4.2.1 INTRODUCTION. • . • • • • • . • . • • • . • • • . • • • . • • . • .. 192 4.2.2 BALLET AS A FEMALE REALM WITHIN VICTORIAN GENDER IDEOLOGY ..•.......•..•..•......•... 193 4 4.2.3 THE MALE BALLET DANCER AND BOURGEOIS SELF- IDENTIFICATION ...•..•.•..•...•.•••...••.•. 194 4.2.4 THE MALE BALLET DANCER AND THE EROTIC APPEAL OF BALLET •.••.•.•.••.••.••••..••..•.....••••. 198 4.3. THE REINTRODUCTION OF THE MALE DANCER TO WESTERN THEATRES 4.3.1 IDEOLOGIES OF MASCULINITY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURy ...........•.....•... 201 4.3.2 PRO-MALE MANLINESS .........•••••••••.••.•. 204 4.3.3 NIJINSKY AND NEW MALE ROLES IN BALLET .•... 206 4.3.4 MODERN DANCE AND MASCULINITy •.••••••.••.•. 210 4.3.5 SHAWN'S LEGACY •....•.•..•.••..••••.•...... 214 4.4 CONTACT AND CUNNINGHAM 4.4.1 MASCULINITY IN MODERNIST ART AND ITS DISCONTENTS .......................••...... 21 7 4.4.2 MODERNISM AND THE COLD WAR •.••.•..••.•••.. 220 4.4.3 HOMOSEXUALITY AND AESTHETIC NEUTRALITy •.•. 222 4.4.4 CONTACT IMPROVISATION AND AESTHETIC NEUTRALITY • . • •. 224 4.4.5 THE PITFALLS OF AESTHETIC NEUTRALITy ••.••. 228 4.5. MAINSTREAM BRITISH BALLET AND MODERN DANCE 4.5.1 THE DANCE BOOM IN BRITAIN IN THE 1970S ••.• 230 4.5.2 BRITISH BALLET AND THE RESPECTABLY INEXPRESSIVE MALE DANCER •••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 232 4.5.3 EXPRESSIVE MALE DANCERS IN BRITISH MODERN DANCE • . • .. 236 4.6 CONCLUSION ..........•.•..••.•.•••..••..•.•....•..•. 241 CHAPTER FIVE REPRESENTATIONS OF MASCULINITY IN BRITISH NEW DANCE 5.1 INTRODUCTION 246 5.2.1 THE MEN'S ISSUE OF NEW DANCE MAGAZINE •.••• 249 5.2.2 MEN WORKING TOGETHER ..•••••••.•.•••.••..•• 256 5.2.3 NEW DANCE: A RADICAL CRITIQUE, A BREAK WITH OR A CONTINUATION OF TRADITION? •.•••.•••••.•. 261 5.3 FERGUS EARLY 5.3.1 BACKGROUND AND STYLE •.••.•••••..•.••••..•• 268 5.3.2 THREE GYMNOPEDIES •••.••••.•••.•••••..••.•• 274 5.3.3 ARE YOU RIGHT THERE MICHAEL? ARE YOU RIGHT? 279 5.4 JACKY LANSLEY 5.4.1 BACKGROUND AND STYLE •.•••.•••••••••••.•.•• 287 5 • 4 • 2 FRANK. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • . • . • . • . .• 2 9 :2 5.5 LAURIE BOOTH 5.5.1 BACKGROUND AND APPROACH TO CHOREOGRAPHY ••• 299 5.5.2 THE MANY MEANINGS OF MOVING •....•.•.••..•• 305 5.5.3 RISK AND VULNERABILITy ••••.••.•.•••••.•.•• 310 5 5.6 LLOYD NEWSON 5.6.1 BACKGROUND CONTEXTS .•..................... 314 5 .6 . 2 MY SEX OUR DANCE ......•.•...........•..... 317 5.6.3 DEAD DREAMS OF MONOCHROME MEN ............. 320 a) Context ...•....•..•................•... 320 b) Connections with Killing for Company 322 c) Gay themes and gay experience •••••..•.• 324 d) Sado-masochism and voyeurism .......•..• 327 e) Challenging the limits of acceptable masculine behaviour ..•................. 331 5.7 LEA ANDERSON 5.7.1 LEA ANDERSON AND NEW DANCE ................ 334 5.7.2 THE FEATHERSTONEHAUGHS AND 'NORMAL' MALE BEHAVIOUR ................................. 337 5.7.3 SEXUALITY AND THE FEMALE GAZE ............. 342 5.7.4 UNLOVEABLE MEN ....................•...•..• 346 5.8 CONCLUSION. • . • • . .. 350 Endnotes ..............................................