First, a bit of autobiography. Years ago I set out to write, to teach, perhaps to become a literary critic. Tortured by the need to sit still, I took dance classes to break up days at my desk, and was pointed toward dance journalism by a teacher who liked my...
“First, a bit of autobiography. Years ago I set out to write, to teach, perhaps to become a literary critic. Tortured by the need to sit still, I took dance classes to break up days at my desk, and was pointed toward dance journalism by a teacher who liked my reviews. Ditching grad school in English literature to write for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the alternative press, I decided to read all the dance books in the Vancouver Public Library: about eighty the day I counted them. "Piece of cake," I said to myself, figuring that when I was done I'd be ready to dive in to dance criticism.
“That was in another country, and another century. Now there are probably eight thousand dance books written in English, and so many piled up in my apartment that I've considered replacing my queen-size bed with a single to make more room for shelves. This boom in dance literature coincides with the tailing-off of the boom in performance, which has been evident since the early Nineties; many funders now more readily support scholarship and archiving than creative projects. University dance departments seek candidates with doctorates, and require them to publish. That obligation is our gain; herewith, a quick look at the crop of the season.”