Oxford Dance Writers

Yet again a British politician opens his mouth in an unguarded moment and the reality of his ignorance and prejudice about dance is revealed.  This time it is David Cameron who opens his mouth and metaphorically puts his foot in it (I am sure he is neither fit nor flexible enough to do this for real), disparaging the benefits of Indian dance classes in schools.  And this on the very day that Akademi, South Asian Dance UK, performs in Westminster Hall as part of the Arts in Parliament programme of events.  And barely 10 days after the Olympics’ opening ceremony seen by countless millions, where the atmospheric dance episode during “Abide with Me” was lead by one of the UK’s most respected dance artists, a practitioner of the Indian classical dance form Kathak, Akram Khan.  Mr. Cameron wins at least a double gold for tactlessness, succeeding at a stroke in insulting both the Asian community and the dance community.  Or should that be a triple gold, given that this particular day has also seen British teams emerging strongly in the finals of the more ‘artistic’ sports disciplines of synchronised swimming (commentators cooing over the beautiful choreography) and rhythmic gymnastics? (more…)

Met up last Sunday with Nicholas Minns, who began his blog Writing about dance in the spring.  A space for longer pieces in response to current performances and events, it demonstrates Nicholas’ belief in the importance of the descriptive element of dance writing and criticism, capturing the fleeting and ephemeral and bringing it to life for the benefit of those who could not witness it live.  Observant and thought-provoking reflections from a dance practitioner, it provides a welcome alternative to much all too brief dance criticism; add this link to your list of favourites:

http://writingaboutdance.com

For those of you that saw work in progress on Dancing the Invisible – Late Work at the URC in April, here is Nicholas’ full account of the performance of the developed work at the Ivy Arts Centre, Guildford:

http://writingaboutdance.com/2012/05/05/dancing-the-invisible/