The Theatre Academy of Uniarts Helsinki has unveiled an e-publication that promises a fresh perspective on the history of dance. Titled “Dance Arts: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Practices,” this comprehensive textbook is a collaborative effort by editors Kirsi Monni, Riikka Laakso, and Hanna Järvinen.
Originally published in Finnish last year, the book Dance arts: Historical perspectives and contemporary practices has now been translated into English, providing a broader audience with insights into the historical trajectories and features of Western dance as a performing art. The publication is available online on the Uniarts Helsinki’s website, free of charge.
The e-book examines dance history from contemporary viewpoints. It seeks to reinterpret the canon, identify resonances with the present, and shed light on previously overlooked histories and neglected figures.
“It is important that history is reread and reinterpreted from new perspectives”, says Kirsi Monni, one of the editors, in Circus & Dance Info Finland’s article about the Finnish original.
The topics covered in the book range from the long histories of using ritual practices or Antiquity to justify dance as art, from the different influences of ballet and Afrodiasporic practices to the interaction between dance and technology in the 21st century and disability dance.
“Ballet, for example, has been approached in a fresh way. Questions have been asked, for example, about ballet’s relationship to its sources and the background to Orientalism has been unraveled”, Monni continues.
Structured chronologically, the book considers artists and creators in relation to the frameworks and phenomena of their respective eras. The online format allows for updates, ensuring the inclusion of articles on relevant phenomena in the years to come.
The 18 contributors are experts in their fields, artists and researchers: Mikael Aaltonen, Thomas F. DeFrant, Hanna Järvinen, Simo Kellokumpu, Aino Kukkonen, Johanna Laakkonen, Riikka Laakso, Jukka O. Miettinen, Kirsi Monni, Mirva Mäkinen, Hanna Pajala-Assefa, Riitta Pasanen-Willberg, Liisa Pentti, Manna Satama, Ari Tenhula, Anna Thuring, Vesa Vahtikari and Hanna Väätäinen
MORE INFORMATION
Link to the e-book