Abstract
When people with widely diverse bodily characteristics collaborate in dancing together, an exploration and communication of movement and embodied knowledge takes place through dialogue and shared practice. Engagement in these activities develops participants’ awareness of and appreciation for kinaesthetic complexities and diverse embodiments, promoting an understanding of bodily difference as contributing to, rather than detracting from, the realm of physical arts and society as a whole. Based on fieldwork conducted in Israel and the United States with integrated dance projects bringing together people with and without disabilities, this article offers an ethnographic analysis that continues the anthropological endeavour of revealing the ways kinaesthetic knowledge (awareness and knowledge of the movement and spatial orientation of one's body) is fostered. Introducing disability into movement theory, I offer an understanding of movement/stasis as a spectrum of ways of moving, looking at what happens when individuals who are different from one another engage in shared, critical reflection upon their movement practices.
Original language | American English |
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Pages (from-to) | 554-574 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Sep 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:I am grateful to Tamar Elor, Hodel Ophir, Yael Assor, Smadar Brack, Guy Shalev, Liron Shani, Nili Belkind, and Yali Nativ for their insightful comments on earlier drafts, to my research assistants Rotem Steinbock, Rony Ohad, and Inbar Pincu for our mutual discussions, to Janet Christensen for her skilled editorial work, and to the ’s anonymous reviewers and Editor for their invaluable comments. The article is based on research made possible by grants I received from the Spencer Foundation (#201600130) and the Israel Science Foundation (grant nos 183/14 and 358/16). Most of all, I am indebted to all the practitioners of integrated dance who participated in this research. JRAI
Publisher Copyright:
© Royal Anthropological Institute 2020