Resolution is the UK’s biggest dance festival dedicated to showcasing the work of new choreographers, hosted every year at The Place (London). For three weeks, a group of emerging dance writers is selected to participate in Resolution Review – a dance criticism programme dedicated to honing critical voices and creating a dynamic dialogue between writers and artists participating in the festival. After being accepted into Resolution Review 2024, I got the chance to watch and review nine pieces presented in this year’s edition of Resolution, while being mentored by leading professional dance critics – Josephine Leask, Emily May, Rachel Elderkin, Graham Watts, Bruce Marriott and Matthew Paluch, with the whole programme being supervised by Suzanne Frost. Meeting and working alongside them encouraged me to completely rethink what critical writing could and should be in today’s world. This series of interviews, in which we explore their vast international dance writing experience, might turn out to be the perfect inspiration for expanding Romanian dance into more than the niche it is today.
Josephine Leask is a London-based dance critic, lecturer and PhD researcher at Central School of Speech and Drama. Her PhD research explores the contribution of New Dance Magazine (1977-1988) to the creation of alternative and feminist intersectional dance criticism and reviewing practices. As a critic, she has written about dance for a range of mainstream press and dance publications including Dance Tabs, but currently writes for dance art journal and edits Resolution Review which profiles and mentors emerging writers writing alongside critics.
Daria ANCUȚA: Firstly, I would like to know more about your professional background. How and when did you first start writing about dance? Where does it fit into your current schedule and activity?
Josephine LEASK: When I was a student studying dance in the early 1990’s, my degree included a year working in the dance industry. I assisted the dance editor of The Stage in London which included some reviewing and editing. At university, the dance department also ran a course, led by a UK dance critic on dance criticism.
When I graduated, I worked on the production side of a live-art, performance magazine called Hybrid, which gave me more experience in reviewing and editing. What helped me the most, however, was taking part in a dance critic’s course run by Dance Umbrella as part of their international dance festival in London. It was an intense week-long course, where we were asked to write reviews of the shows we attended at the festival. We also had practice writing previews, features and interviews with dance artists and then discussed them in seminars. The course was led by American and UK dance critics. The writing that we did during the course was circulated amongst UK and European dance magazines and journals and this helped me get published. I started writing about dance in London for a German bi-lingual dance magazine, Ballet International Tanz Aktuell. Ever since I have worked as a freelance critic and dance writer for a range of press, dance magazines, academic journals, books and online platforms, alongside lecturing and editing.
I’m currently in the final stages of my Ph.D. writing about feminist dance criticism and a magazine that was started by a feminist dance collective in 1977 – 1988, called New Dance magazine. I have become much more selective about what I review and how often because of time constraints at the moment but hope to write more when I’ve finished my thesis. Also, I am committed to reviewing underrepresented dance artists. I currently edit Resolution Review and contribute to dance art journal.
D.A.: What are the things you make sure to look at when watching a contemporary dance piece?
J.L.: The choreographer’s intention and how effectively they communicate that. What makes the work meaningful. I look at everything: the design, lighting, relationship between the dancers, the movement itself, gestures, the dynamics, a spoken narrative, how they move through space. A performer’s particular movement style or expressiveness. The aural setting or music and how that works with the choreography/dancers. How performers communicate with their audience.
D.A.: What makes a show you’re reviewing stand out to you?
J.L.: It varies. How convincingly the performance communicates the choreographer’s intention? A dancer’s particular movement style? Sometimes it might be a couple of things from the list above that standout for me or it might be the skillful interplay of all components.
D.A.: The reviews we write in Resolution Review have quite an interesting format – the limited character count challenges you to be more concise and thus makes for a very enjoyable read. What do you think writers and publications could do to become more engaging given the contemporary reader’s increasingly shorter attention span?
J.L.: I think short blogs around the length of 300-400 words work best for shorter attention spans. Most readers just want to get an idea of the work and whether it’s interesting. The writer needs to start with a hook that will catch the reader’s attention and finish with an ending that will linger with them.
D.A.: As I mentioned during our chats in London, dance writing is almost non-existent in Romania, but the dance scene is quite prolific. Even though things are looking a bit brighter in the UK, we talked a lot about the so-called „death of criticism” (newspapers, magazines and online cultural platforms suffering savage cuts or disappearing completely). What do you think it would take for dance writing to become more than a niche in today’s world?
J.L.: Difficult question. Being paid properly for it! Funding for online platforms and dance publications would also help. As there are so many dance festivals in the UK and Europe, I think if every festival had their own online reviewing platform with a team of writers, like Resolution Review, that would be great. Online platforms, blogs and social media are the way to go to reach a wide range of people although online writing does need to be regulated.
D.A.: What would your advice be for someone who is just starting to write about dance?
J.L.: Do network and let people know that you write about dance.
Do try and pitch ideas to whatever publication or platform you can.
Start your own blog.
If you are at university, start a writer’s group.
If you are a dance artist, start a writing collective with other artists.
D.A.: Tell us some do’s and don’ts not only for writing, but maybe also for peacefully co-existing alongside artists in the dance world?
J.L.: For writing:
Do try and set the scene of the performance vividly. Take your reader there with you.
Do be convinced about your response or gut feeling to a work, regardless of what other people or members of the audience think.
Do think about who tends to be underrepresented in the performances you see (gender, ethnicity).
Do think about who is your readership.
Do write as if you are describing the performance to someone – an audience member, a friend or colleague.
Do try and talk about the work you’ve seen with people around you.
Do read what you’ve written out loud. It draws attention to errors or boring words and phrasing.
Do use a range of words and interesting verbs. Use metaphors. Be creative with your writing – witty and engaging.
Do describe as well as interpret and evaluate.
Do say what the performance makes you feel.
Do be open to discussing a review with the artist if they request it and if you are happy to engage with them.
Do be curious.
Do try and write about underrepresented artists.
Don’t try and do the choreographer’s work, e.g. point out what could be better about the choreography.
Don’t be too negative about a show that doesn’t work for you, especially if it is by emerging dance artists. You can still point out what doesn’t work without being nasty.
Don’t review a friend or lover’s work if you feel uncomfortable about the consequences.
Don’t make personal comments about the dancers’ age, size, gender, ethnicity, unless the work is specifically about any of these.
Don’t let your ego (or biases) hijack your writing. Convey your knowledge and articulate it well but don’t show off how clever you are.
D.A.: Given that our artistic world is quite a small one, what do you think is the secret to a healthy artist-critic professional relationship?
Dance writing resolutions with Josephine Leask
Publicat în: Teatrul azi nr. 1-2/2024
Rubrica: internațional
Resolution is the UK’s biggest dance festival dedicated to showcasing the work of new choreographers, hosted every year at The Place (London). For three weeks, a group of emerging dance writers is selected to participate in Resolution Review – a dance criticism programme dedicated to honing critical voices and creating a dynamic dialogue between writers and artists participating in the festival. After being accepted into Resolution Review 2024, I got the chance to watch and review nine pieces presented in this year’s edition of Resolution, while being mentored by leading professional dance critics – Josephine Leask, Emily May, Rachel Elderkin, Graham Watts, Bruce Marriott and Matthew Paluch, with the whole programme being supervised by Suzanne Frost. Meeting and working alongside them encouraged me to completely rethink what critical writing could and should be in today’s world. This series of interviews, in which we explore their vast international dance writing experience, might turn out to be the perfect inspiration for expanding Romanian dance into more than the niche it is today.
Daria ANCUȚA: Firstly, I would like to know more about your professional background. How and when did you first start writing about dance? Where does it fit into your current schedule and activity?
Josephine LEASK: When I was a student studying dance in the early 1990’s, my degree included a year working in the dance industry. I assisted the dance editor of The Stage in London which included some reviewing and editing. At university, the dance department also ran a course, led by a UK dance critic on dance criticism.
When I graduated, I worked on the production side of a live-art, performance magazine called Hybrid, which gave me more experience in reviewing and editing. What helped me the most, however, was taking part in a dance critic’s course run by Dance Umbrella as part of their international dance festival in London. It was an intense week-long course, where we were asked to write reviews of the shows we attended at the festival. We also had practice writing previews, features and interviews with dance artists and then discussed them in seminars. The course was led by American and UK dance critics. The writing that we did during the course was circulated amongst UK and European dance magazines and journals and this helped me get published. I started writing about dance in London for a German bi-lingual dance magazine, Ballet International Tanz Aktuell. Ever since I have worked as a freelance critic and dance writer for a range of press, dance magazines, academic journals, books and online platforms, alongside lecturing and editing.
I’m currently in the final stages of my Ph.D. writing about feminist dance criticism and a magazine that was started by a feminist dance collective in 1977 – 1988, called New Dance magazine. I have become much more selective about what I review and how often because of time constraints at the moment but hope to write more when I’ve finished my thesis. Also, I am committed to reviewing underrepresented dance artists. I currently edit Resolution Review and contribute to dance art journal.
D.A.: What are the things you make sure to look at when watching a contemporary dance piece?
J.L.: The choreographer’s intention and how effectively they communicate that. What makes the work meaningful. I look at everything: the design, lighting, relationship between the dancers, the movement itself, gestures, the dynamics, a spoken narrative, how they move through space. A performer’s particular movement style or expressiveness. The aural setting or music and how that works with the choreography/dancers. How performers communicate with their audience.
D.A.: What makes a show you’re reviewing stand out to you?
J.L.: It varies. How convincingly the performance communicates the choreographer’s intention? A dancer’s particular movement style? Sometimes it might be a couple of things from the list above that standout for me or it might be the skillful interplay of all components.
D.A.: The reviews we write in Resolution Review have quite an interesting format – the limited character count challenges you to be more concise and thus makes for a very enjoyable read. What do you think writers and publications could do to become more engaging given the contemporary reader’s increasingly shorter attention span?
J.L.: I think short blogs around the length of 300-400 words work best for shorter attention spans. Most readers just want to get an idea of the work and whether it’s interesting. The writer needs to start with a hook that will catch the reader’s attention and finish with an ending that will linger with them.
D.A.: As I mentioned during our chats in London, dance writing is almost non-existent in Romania, but the dance scene is quite prolific. Even though things are looking a bit brighter in the UK, we talked a lot about the so-called „death of criticism” (newspapers, magazines and online cultural platforms suffering savage cuts or disappearing completely). What do you think it would take for dance writing to become more than a niche in today’s world?
J.L.: Difficult question. Being paid properly for it! Funding for online platforms and dance publications would also help. As there are so many dance festivals in the UK and Europe, I think if every festival had their own online reviewing platform with a team of writers, like Resolution Review, that would be great. Online platforms, blogs and social media are the way to go to reach a wide range of people although online writing does need to be regulated.
D.A.: What would your advice be for someone who is just starting to write about dance?
J.L.: Do network and let people know that you write about dance.
Do try and pitch ideas to whatever publication or platform you can.
Start your own blog.
If you are at university, start a writer’s group.
If you are a dance artist, start a writing collective with other artists.
D.A.: Tell us some do’s and don’ts not only for writing, but maybe also for peacefully co-existing alongside artists in the dance world?
J.L.: For writing:
Do try and set the scene of the performance vividly. Take your reader there with you.
Do be convinced about your response or gut feeling to a work, regardless of what other people or members of the audience think.
Do think about who tends to be underrepresented in the performances you see (gender, ethnicity).
Do think about who is your readership.
Do write as if you are describing the performance to someone – an audience member, a friend or colleague.
Do try and talk about the work you’ve seen with people around you.
Do read what you’ve written out loud. It draws attention to errors or boring words and phrasing.
Do use a range of words and interesting verbs. Use metaphors. Be creative with your writing – witty and engaging.
Do describe as well as interpret and evaluate.
Do say what the performance makes you feel.
Do be open to discussing a review with the artist if they request it and if you are happy to engage with them.
Do be curious.
Do try and write about underrepresented artists.
Don’t try and do the choreographer’s work, e.g. point out what could be better about the choreography.
Don’t be too negative about a show that doesn’t work for you, especially if it is by emerging dance artists. You can still point out what doesn’t work without being nasty.
Don’t review a friend or lover’s work if you feel uncomfortable about the consequences.
Don’t make personal comments about the dancers’ age, size, gender, ethnicity, unless the work is specifically about any of these.
Don’t let your ego (or biases) hijack your writing. Convey your knowledge and articulate it well but don’t show off how clever you are.
D.A.: Given that our artistic world is quite a small one, what do you think is the secret to a healthy artist-critic professional relationship?
J.L.: Engagement and dialogue.