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Field of Inquiry and Methodology

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Labor and Aesthetics in European Contemporary Dance

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Abstract

The transdisciplinary methodology essentially combines methods from dance studies and the social sciences. I provide an empirically grounded status quo of the socio-economic position of contemporary dance artists in Brussels and Berlin. In addition, I unravel the qualitative approach I have followed within the research project, undertaking one year of ethnographic fieldwork in each city. In order to fully grasp the working conditions in contemporary dance through the lens of its practitioners, it was necessary to explore the artistic output in which contemporary dance artists publicly address their precarious working conditions as key part of the fieldwork. This book thus also discusses the emerging aesthetic of precariousness in which the precarious nature of artistic work has been made visible on stage.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Investigating atypical forms of work may be relevant today, as we encounter more flexibility within employment situations, e.g., working from home, co-working spaces, flexible hours,….

  2. 2.

    Interestingly, Pewny argues that several male theater directors and choreographers in Germany became famous by addressing their working conditions in their performances whereas several female collectives did not become famous with their work on precarity.

  3. 3.

    Just when finalizing this book, the vision note for the Flemish cultural policy for 2019–2024 announced a very drastic budget cut of 60% for project subsidies under the Arts Decree was announced for the next application rounds in 2020.

  4. 4.

    Kunstenaarsstatuut in Dutch, statute d’artiste in French.

  5. 5.

    The data I use throughout this book therefore only provide relevant information on the Brussels dance scene seen through a Flemish lens.

  6. 6.

    Own translation from German.

  7. 7.

    Aside from the open-access descriptive reports (Van Assche and Laermans 2016, 2017), a book chapter published by Brussels University Press on December 4, 2018, contains an expansive in-depth analysis of the quantitative research results in the Brussels dance scene (see Van Assche 2018b).

  8. 8.

    The fieldwork has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy at Ghent University during their meeting on January 8, 2016, chaired by Prof. Dr. Guido Pennings, and has been performed in accordance with the ethical standards.

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  1. Gent, Belgium

    Annelies Van Assche

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Van Assche, A. (2020). Field of Inquiry and Methodology. In: Labor and Aesthetics in European Contemporary Dance . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40693-6_3

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