What is it about?
The paper unpacks the roles of metaphor and metonymy in dance thought and action: how do they arise, how are they understood, how are they to be explained, and in what ways do they determine a person's doing of dance? The premise is that language matters at the cultural level and can be determinative at the individual level.
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Why is it important?
I contend that some figures of speech, especially metonymic labels like ‘bunhead’, can not only discourage but dehumanize young dancers, treating them not as subjects who dance but as objects to be danced. The use of language devices such as metonymy to sort young dancers may undermine the development of healthy self-image, impede strong identity formation, and retard creative-artistic development. This paper is important for dance educators and parents of young dancers.
Perspectives
I use personal examples from my professional dance background, as dancer and teacher, that I hope readers will find interesting and compelling.
Edward Warburton
University of California Santa Cruz
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Metonymy in Dance: Ballet Bunheads Take a Cognitive Turn, Dance Research, May 2019, Edinburgh University Press,
DOI: 10.3366/drs.2019.0251.
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