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The Dance Critics Association, 1974
- Wesleyan University Press
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The Dance Critics Association, 1974 The Dance Critics Association (DCA) seeks to solidify dance criticism as a distinct profession. According to the mission statement on its web site, (www.dancecritics.org, 2007) DCA, “seeks to further the identity of dance criticism as a profession; to offer its members solidarity; and to provide the means for exchanging information and exploring fresh approaches to critical writing.” The organization was formally established in 1974 in response to a felt need for an organization to represent working dance critics and foster greater communication and interaction. The DCA web site lists its founding board members as Walter Terry, Paula Shapiro, Selma Jeanne Cohen, Rose Ann Thom, Rita Katz Farrell, Suzanne Shelton, and Don McDonagh . DCA held its first convention on dance writing in 1974 at the McAlpin Hotel in New York City, and named William Littler president and Patrick O’Connor conference chairman. Since that time, DCA has hosted between one and three conferences per year, with the exception of a short break in 1976 and 1977. Largely through these gatherings, DCA has served as a network and a definitive institutional platform for the profession of dance criticism. A list documenting past conferences, conference themes, organizers, and participants is currently being generated on the DCA web site. The list conveys the scope, depth, and range of thematic material its members work with. Over a thirty-year history, perhaps the greatest challenge for dance critics has been the lack of space for the publication of their work. While the DCA has not been able to solve this practical problem, it has functioned on a paradigmatic level, directly tackling the difficult task of transmitting a nonverbal activity and experience through words. In her editorial for the inaugural issue of the ADG periodical Dance Scope, Marcia Siegel explains, “There are still too few places where dance actually is performed ; written words and photographs still must transmit some of the sense of dance to the public, although its essence cannot be transmitted by any other medium” (Siegel 1965b:2). Siegel’s statement communicates a deep sense of responsibility. Dancers, dance scholars, and critics need to negotiate the complicated terrain of putting dance into words in order to serve and promote the field of dance within a broader public. All members receive DCA’s quarterly newsletter, DCA News, of which part is available for viewing on the DCA web site. Also available on the 148 web site are resources for members, including web links for dance critics, members’ publications, and Twenty Questions to Ask Yourself before You Start to Write about a Performance, compiled by Deborah Jowitt, Marcia Siegel, and Elizabeth Zimmer. Members and nonmembers, including critics , editors, writers, scholars, dancers, and choreographers, also exchange The Dance Critics Association 149 Cover of the first DCA Newsletter, April 1978, edited by Marcia Siegel and Tobi Tobias. Courtesy of the Dance Critics Association. [44.213.99.37] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 08:17 GMT) ideas about the dance field and dance criticism at DCA’s annual conference . A conference scholarship, the Gary Parks Memorial Scholarship Fund, was created in 2001 to “help connect writers to their colleagues in the dance community,” according to the web site. In addition to the scholarship fund, DCA is initiating a Mentorship Matching program to nurture writers new to dance criticism. DCA also recognizes excellence in dance criticism through its Senior Critic Honoree award, inaugurated in 2000. DCA now consists of approximately three hundred institutional and individual members. Membership is available to all those interested in dance writing and scholarship; but voting membership is reserved for published or broadcast dance critics. Membership, listed on the DCA web site, currently includes critics who are writing for newspapers, magazines, and web sites across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Deborah Jowitt The interview with Deborah Jowitt in Greenwich Village, New York, on March 12, 1999. Deborah Jowitt began her career in dance as a performer/choreographer when she moved to New York City in 1953. She was a founder of Dance Theater Workshop, where she presented her own choreography and performed in works by colleagues . In 1967, Jowitt began writing her column for the Village Voice, producing a rich chronicle of dance in New York City. Her articles on dance have appeared in numerous publications, among them the New York Times, Dance Magazine, Ballet Review, and Dance Research Journal. She has published two collections: Dance Beat (1977) and Dance in Mind (1985). A third book, Time and the...