Task 4D) Final Literature Review

Literature Review of The Philosophical aesthetics of dance: identity, performance and understanding

Graham McGee, author of The Philosophical aesthetics of dance: identity, performance and understanding is a professor of Philosophy at The University of Brighton. His book explores the philosophical aesthetics of dance. It focuses on dances as performing art works – performables. It raises questions on the identity of dance works by exploring the notion of multiples – the same dance work being performed by different casts in different places, therefore can it be considered the same dance? He looks at the making of dance works raising issues of authorship. He considers the dancer’s contribution to the performance and clarifies the position of dancer and choreographer, to assess the contribution each is making to the dance work. The understanding of dances is explored through analysing the reconstruction process of past dances and identifying the categories of art which can be used to evaluate and theorise the dance. He specifically looks at the ideal audiences whose judgments might be considered highly important.  

McGee raises the question of whether or not an audience is needed for dance. He looks at a variety of angles, seeing dance as an art requiring an audience for it’s very meaning, then looking at the theory of proprioception and how that might allow for an understanding and meaning through the movement itself; how the dancer’s own proprioception might stand as a replacement for external judgment.

I will be using this book to further investigate the requirement of an audience for dance at all. What the effect of not having one might be and how the dancer’s own proprioception might be of use to their personal development as a dancer. This book introduces some quite complex ideas and they are obviously one person’s view. However, McGee has produced some very well documented accounts with a great deal of research and he is very clear when he is only drawing on his personal views. He is not a dancer himself which means it is the view point of a philosophical kind; this is beneficial to my research which will be exploring the opinions of a variety of audiences.

McFee, G. (2011) The Philosophical aesthetics of dance: identity, performance and understanding. Hampshire: Dance Books Ltd