Beyond the Mystique: The Effect of The #METOO Movement in Dance

Abstract

This paper explores the effect of the #MeToo movement in dance and, more specifically, how the re-emergence of female choreography in ballet can attribute certain consequences in changes of aesthetics in the art form and the normalisation of women’s repertoire in major ballet companies to the movement. The paper takes a chronological look at the last three decades, focusing geographically in the United States and the United Kingdom in order to provide a framework that may explain the changes that have taken place in the sector in the last few years. Feminist and gender studies will provide the academic framework to analyse the press and media articles that seem to have played a major role in this resurgence of female choreography and leadership in the sector. Academic studies regarding the lack of parity in the sector at the upper tier of major companies and the historical neglect of women’s contributions to the development of the art form will also be considered in the analysis of recent changes in the sector. Miranda Fricker’s theory on epistemic injustice will also provide valuable help in establishing the possible factors that may have contributed to this historical neglect and its present consequences. The analysis will be mainly qualitative through the internal and external analysis of the collected sources.