Consumer dance identity: the intersection between competition dance, televised dance shows and social media

ABSTRACT This article employs a theoretical framework, utilizing cultural analysis, to explore how the intersection in the United States between competition dance, televised dance shows, and social media (which will be defined as consumer dance) is affecting the embodiment, pedagogy, and appreciation of dance, and contributing to the objectification and commodification of these dancers. Hegemonic constructions of gender and beauty populate consumer dance, giving birth to identities that are predominately reliant on the sense of sight due to technological changes that have plunged society into a nonstop visual world found on a screen. Engaging with the scholarship of Karen Schupp, Susan Foster, and Alexis Weisbord that examines competition dance, the current consumer dance model is analyzed for how it shapes the dancer’s body and psyche. As a researcher, I see an intersection of my identities as a figure skater, modern dancer, choreographer, educator, feminist, and the mother of two daughters who dance informing the trajectory of my research. This scholarship draws from different lenses delving into philosophy, dance studies, feminism, and psychology in order to reveal the complexity of the forces that create consumer dance.

**摘要** 本文运用一个包含文化分析的理论框架，探讨在美国竞技舞蹈、电视舞蹈节目以及社交媒体（将其定义为消费性舞蹈）之间的交叉如何影响舞蹈的体现、教学法和欣赏，并导致这些舞者的物化和商品化。性别和美的霸权建构充斥着消费性舞蹈，由于技术变革使社会陷入屏幕上的不间断视觉世界，从而催生了主要依赖视觉的身份。结合凯伦·舒普、苏珊·福斯特和亚历克西斯·韦斯博德对竞技舞蹈的研究成果，对当前的消费性舞蹈模式进行分析，以了解它如何塑造舞者的身体和心灵。作为一名研究者，我看到自己作为花样滑冰运动员、现代舞者、编舞家、教育者、女权主义者以及两位跳舞女儿的母亲的多重身份交叉，这影响了我的研究轨迹。本研究从哲学、舞蹈研究、女权主义和心理学等不同视角出发，以揭示造就消费性舞蹈的各种力量的复杂性。