Art forms are always political in what they choose to explore and what they don’t. Even the lack of making an active choice – is still a choice. Bodies especially, carry this weight of political choice because it is difficult, I would argue impossible, to separate the actions and emotions of a performance from the physical body in performance. In this way, the bodies you use are indeed political statements, the movement itself is a political statement, and the genders of the bodies you use are also political.

One of my biggest disappointments with the format of SYTYCD is the idea of Male/Female partnerships. While I understand that many styles are often best served with Male/Female partnerships in smaller groups and that the format of duet story-lines tends to revolve around relationships, there are several disconcerting connotations with this kind of coupling.

First, it’s very heterosexually oriented – excluding other kinds of relationships and sexualities. Secondly, it’s very gender normative – in that the roles of traditional “men” and “women” are reinforced through story, movement and the comments of judges. Finally, it’s limiting – not only in scope, but it limits the voters’ choices, it limits the choreographers, and it limits the audiences’ comprehension of dance as an art form. [Read more…]