Speakers
Description
Competitive dance has risen in popularity recently, partially due to media content such as So You Think You Can Dance and Dance Moms. Unfortunately, as interest has increased, cases of harm in dance are being brought to the forefront. While there has been some research conducted on understanding harm in dance, literature is specific to ballet or professional dancers. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to explore experiences of harm in competitive dance. After receiving ethical approval from the University, participants were recruited using a combination of purposeful and snowball sampling. 24 competitive dancers were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Following analysis and theme generation, data were represented as a written report as well as piece of choreography developed by dancers from the study. Choreography was developed by providing dancers with generated themes and quotes as a point of inspiration and allowing dancers to express themselves through movement. Findings included experiences of emotional and physical harm, harm influenced by social identity (gender, race, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation), downplaying harm, positive experiences outweighing harm, and communicating through dance. Implications of harm in dance communities will be discussed, specifically in relation to arts-based methods and dancer social identity. Benefits of using arts-based methods in dance communities will be examined as well as future directions for creating a safer dance environment.
