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Looking at specific moments of dance in our western culture through the 20th century this paper argues the intimate realtionship between governement funding of dance and the socio-political organization promoted by that regime.
Dancing bodies communicate through the sense of motion. Motion receptors are located within the body; proprioception is described as «one own’s perception», to sense motion is to sense the self[1]. In that perspective, celebrating or suppressing the self, is inseperable from the socio-political milieu discourse. While individual propositions, in new ways of moving / feeling, reinforce values of democracy and contribute to the richness of the sensory landscapes, totalitarian regimes try to unify all individuals under the same kinesthetic values.
From muscular control to «free flow» motion, from the hierarchic structure of ballet to the total democratization of the dancing body, this presentation tries to put into light the sensuous continuum between muscles’ tensility, choreographic structure, inner organization of dance companies and the political regime under which the dance is created.
What link is there between freedom of motion on stage and freedom of motion within the society? What physical approach can reinforce social order and/or promote democratization? How does the choreographic structure reflect the social organization? How are viewer perceptions and/or expectations confirmed or disrupted? Does contemporary dance exists in totalitarian regimes? If not why? What is a democratic body?
Focusing mainly in the mid 70’s, I will compare ex-Soviet Union ballet companies that were acclaimed around the world and American post-modern dance artists whose influences are still vivid and have affected the course of dance history.