Emerging Bodies: The Performance of Worldmaking in Dance and Choreography (Critical Dance Studies)

The concept of »worldmaking« is based on the idea that ›the world‹ is not given, but rather produced through language, actions, ideas and perception. This collection of essays takes a closer look at various hybrid and disparate worlds related to dance and choreography. Coming from a broad range of different backgrounds and disciplines, the authors inquire into the ways of producing ›dance worlds‹: through artistic practice, discourse and media, choreographic form and dance material.
The essays in this volume critically reflect the predominant topos of dance as something fleeting and ephemeral – an embodiment of the Other in modernity. Moreover, they demonstrate that there is more than just one universal »world of dance«, but rather a multitude of interrelated dance worlds with more emerging every day.

Gabriele Klein (Dr. rer. soc.) has been a full professor of sociology with a focus on human movement science, dance and performance studies at Universität Hamburg since 2002. Since 2022 she has also been professor of ballet and dance (Hans-van-Manen Chair) at the University of Amsterdam. She is PI of the Cluster of Excellence »Understanding Written Artefacts« at Universität Hamburg. From 2022 to 2023, she was a fellow at the research center »global dis:connect«.

Sandra Noeth is a professor at Hochschulübergreifendes Zentrum Tanz Berlin and an international curator. Her work focuses on ethical and political perspectives in body-based artistic practice and theory.