Review Of "The Choreographic" By J. Joy

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

7-1-2015

Published In

Choice

Abstract

With this volume, Joy (Rhode Island School of Design; scholar-in-residence, Dancespace Project, Manhattan) extends discussions introduced in Planes of Composition: Dance, Theory, and the Global (2010), which she co-edited with André Lepecki. Drawing on the work of philosophers, dance makers, and visual and performance artists and writers, Joy investigates how critical and performance discourses can be constructed as dialogues. Centering her analyses on close readings of the choreography of DD Dorvillier, Heather Kravas, Meg Stuart, La Ribot, Miguel Gutierrez, Luciana Achugar, and Ralph Lemon, the author offers a framework through which to link the corporeal and aesthetic concerns that arise from dance making and viewing. Passages migrate from traditionally constructed narrative to poetic and stream of consciousness episodes. Throughout, Joy claims a place for choreographic explorations as situated encounters between disciplines. She focuses on conceptual choreography, presently flourishing in New York and at international festivals. Overall, the book raises and attempts to answer a critical question: “What does choreography—as concept and practice—offer in this particular moment of cultural crisis marked by deluges distinctly political and climatic?” Numerous photographs, detailed footnotes, and a comprehensive bibliography add to the narrative. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, professionals.

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