Representing Soldiers to Soldiers Through Dance

Authenticity, Theatricality, and Witnessing the Pain of Others

Bibliographic Data

ID11223487
AuthorsMatthew Reason (0000-0003-0536-4236, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume49
Issue2
Pages79-95
Publication date2017-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDance Research Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0149-7677 • E-ISSN: 1940-509X
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0149767717000213
OpenAlexW2738476155
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited11

Representations of war recur throughout art, whether celebrating the glories and heroism of conflict, or depicting its horrors and follies. This paper uses qualitative audience research to examine soldiers' own responses to the representation of soldiers in choreographer Rosie Kay's dance performance 5 Soldiers : The Body is the Frontline . This article explores how for military audiences the satisfaction of an internalized sense of authenticity allowed them to accept the performance as a legitimate representation; at the same time the presentation of war in a choreographic language meant that the performance was also abstracted, with theatrical and stylized elements that were far from authentic as a documentary. This paper proposes that it was the combination of authenticity with theatricality that generated empathetic investment and made 5 Soldiers an articulate witness to the military experience

Aesthetics · Art · Dance · Political science · Presentation (obstetrics) · Representation (politics) · Stylized fact · Visual arts · Witness · Art Education and Development · Diversity and Impact of Dance · Law · Psychology · Visual Culture and Art Theory

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