Alexandra Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 There's an article on this week's DanceView Times that I hope some of you will find interesting: a report on a dance criticism conference held recently in Budapest. Lots of cross-cultural issues raised. Dance Criticism: Cross-Cultural Views It was immediately clear that there were marked differences among us. For example, there was a period of approximately 40 years from 1950 to 1990 when little experimentation appeared on dance stages in Eastern Europe: under communism, national ballet and folk companies were supported, while modern and contemporary choreographers were not. As a result of this treatment, “we have a hidden allergy to ballet and folk dance,” one critic said. Writers fight to have contemporary dance covered in newspaper sections that are separate from music or theater. For artists working in this region, many needed to travel to western Europe and the States to see the investigation of new ideas that drives contemporary dance today. Related to this, festivals in each of the cities play a major role in fostering an exchange of ideas about contemporary performance. Link to comment
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