Heimonen, Kirsi

English

Tidsskrift.dk (Det Kongelige Bibliotek)

REVIEW136 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 2 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 2Karen Vedel and Petri Hoppu (eds.) Nordic Dance Spaces: Practicing and Imagining a RegionSURREY & BURLINGTON: ASHGATE, 2014, 276 PAGESNordic Dance Spaces: Practicing and Imagining a Region belongs to the series of "e Nordic Experi-ence that studies the Nordic region as a geopolitical concept through historical, political and cultural analyses. As the title of the book suggests, the no-tion of dance space is the key that connects the articles. "e theoretical framework is largely based on Henri Lefebvre’s thoughts on space as histori-cally and socially produced; space is formed by ac-tivities, discourses and lived experience. Lefebvre’s concepts of space link many articles, though often these concepts are taken as such and discussed by means of the material at hand and there are hardly any counter-arguments. In addition, one wonders whether Lefebvre’s theory on space is the most suitable in some cases to highlight the #ndings. Nevertheless, using Lefebvre’s concepts of space in the midst of manifold interests ensures the cohe-sion of the book. "e recurrent question of the relationship between theory and practice also ex-ists in each article as each methodological frame guides the #ndings."e challenge of this kind of collection from various authors is to #nd a balance between the ar-ticles’ interconnection and independence. Never-theless, each article has a connection to a cultural and political dimension at the chosen time-place continuum, not forgetting the signi#cance of in-dividual dancers or teachers. "e editors’ intro-duction forms a #rm base for the historical and ethnographical approach of the collection. "e new mobility paradigm constitutes the backbone of the articles, where nomadism, $uid mobility and instability blossom in their complexity. Dance spaces are seen through geography, global $ows and intercultural perspectives, where the notion of transnationality opens up a manifold concept chapter by chapter."e overall theme of power and hierarchical structures are the focus and how they are re$ect-ed in dance forms, cultures and individual danc-ers and their motility. "e guiding role of Nordic states and organizations to movement and motility is clearly pointed out. Furthermore, there exists a tendency to shift towards the way in which dance can cast a critical perspective on society and not just to illuminate or reinforce the prevailing sys-tem and situation. A further question would be whether dance actually changes the structures of society and how, whereas the dancers’ adaptability and versatility is clearly shown in many articles. "is book paves the way to the growing signi#-cance and impact of dance in di%erent areas of society through its evidence – particularly in the latter part of the twentieth century – showing how cultural politics is interwoven in the life of dancers and their activity. "e articles visit manifold dancing spheres in the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Nor-way and Sweden, and the borders are crossed not only through individual or organizational mobility but also geographically through the Baltic States to Russia in the Barents region and to North America. "e di%erences and similarities between the coun-tries and regions o%er certain categorizations that help to organize the material and o%er #ndings. However, the texts go beyond the categorizations and discuss how cultural stereotypes are produced, maintained and questioned, and how they contin-137Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 2 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 2ue to stay and change. In other respects, the scope of the book is also wide: the time period spans over a hundred years, and dance forms vary from pop-ular dance practices like ballroom, folk dance and rock ’n’ roll to theatrical dance forms like ballet, contemporary and African American jazz dance. "us, dance as a profession and as an amateur ac-tivity are placed side by side. "is re$ects the over-all tendency to cross borders, “scapes” and spheres, and to look carefully at the phenomena at hand. Regional, national, local, global, dynamic spaces overlap, collide, depart, transform and exist side by side with particular dancing spaces. Reading the title and cover image I was also expecting a site-speci#c theme that does not pre-vail as such, not as an experiential theme. Never-theless, various dance locations are discussed. For example, the workplaces of dancers in the early decades of the twentieth century when the opera stage, ballet dancer turns to rope-dancing at the Tivoli Gardens or dances at a restaurant (Anne Margrete Fiskvik). "e issue of a lived experience is also slightly touched on in the descriptions of folk dance competitions where participants dance on grass, on a wooden $oor or on tarmac (Mats Nilsson). "ough these examples above are seen through economic or self-developmental perspec-tives, the ethnographical material opens up in manifold directions.As mentioned above, the articles’ range of is-sues is huge: from the question of how dance art-ists’ mobility is increased through the actions of the Nordic Council (Karen Vedel) to the Nordic stereotypes like Nordic “moodiness” and the power of American critics towards Nordic performances (Inka Juslin). One of the historical perspectives examines the in$uence of the leading people in dance and their social background in the #rst dec-ades of the twentieth century (Egil Bakka). Con-cepts like nationalism, Nordicness, “spheres” and the transnational are woven throughout the book and new concepts like “movementscape” (Lena Hammargren) are also presented. A critical eye has been cast on the material, which is based on ethnographic #eldwork. One example is the role of the Norwegian press to communicate, to rein-force stereotypes or to incite young Norwegians to riot when rock ’n’ roll arrived in Oslo (Inger Damsholt)."is scholarly book o%ers rich standpoints through its nine articles by seven Nordic schol-ars, where dance is taken as practice, as a part of spatial processes and seen as an integral part of the socio-cultural and political realm. "e book does not dwell only on the Nordic soil through its research material; it reaches toward global spheres, and touches upon the complexity of so-ciety including political, geographical, economic, socio-cultural and historical situations. "us the framework is large and leads towards cultural stud-ies. Nevertheless, the connection of the conditions of dancers, teachers, performances, gatherings or competitions to the #ndings of the political or socio-cultural realm is present and clearly stat-ed. While reading the book I wondered whether there was room for the role of chance in dance and politics in this context. "e corporeal dimension that is stressed in the introduction is not overly on display, but is present; it is not as lived or experi-enced in a phenomenological sense, but more as an ethnographic one. Its embodiment is present-ed as the performed region in the Barents region (Karen Vedel) or as the Nordic region constituted through folk dance performances and negotiations (Petri Hoppu). "e authors of the book are im-mersed in their themes and they refer to each oth-er’s chapters and earlier writings that describe the circle of Nordic dance scholars around the theme. "is, thus, forms a kind of cohesion between the multitude of perspectives.Kirsi Heimonen, Helsinki University of the Arts, "eatre Academy  

Karen Vedel - Petri Hoppu (eds.): Nordic Dance Spaces: Practicing and Imagining a Region

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Karen Vedel - Petri Hoppu (eds.): Nordic Dance Spaces: Practicing and Imagining a Region

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