Mini & Macho, Small & Sexy: The Perpetuation of Heteronormativity, Hegemonic Masculinity, and Femininity Within the Culture of Competitive (Jazz and Hip-Hop) Dance

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 208-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Hebert

This paper critically assesses the expectations of competitive jazz dance adjudicators and the effects of these expectations on the presentation of gendered and sexualized dance choreographies by private dance studios. Expectations for competitive dance students with regard to technical ability, execution of choreography, and age/gender (in)appropriateness are unclearly articulated by competitions and adjudicators throughout Canada and the United States. Nevertheless, parents and students enter into private dance studios with pre-conceived notions of what it takes to “win” at competition and demand that their training and choreography reflect this. The onus is on dance teachers and choreographers, then, to adhere to this rapidly evolving culture of dance competition, or otherwise risk losing customers and funds.This paper critically examines current trends in competitive jazz and hip-hop dance through interviews and conversations with three professional competition dance adjudicators. As a competitive dance studio choreographer and researcher, I question the role that competitive dance culture plays in the gendering and sexualization of amateur dancing bodies. Ultimately, what are the implications of the perpetuation of heteronormativity, hegemonic masculinity, and femininity through the dances created for competition on adolescent dancing bodies? What other options are available for private competitive dance studios wishing to simultaneously participate in and disrupt this culture without losing their businesses?

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (8) ◽  
pp. 68-80
Author(s):  
Mykhailo DYBA ◽  
◽  
Iuliia GERNEGO ◽  

The relevance of the study of venture financing development in the era of increasing epidemiological risks is considered within the current situation in society, namely the significant impact of COVID-19 on all sectors of social and economic development. This shows the urgency of a systematic justification of current trends and peculiarities of venture financing development, taking into consideration the COVID-19 situation. The above-mentioned aspects define the purpose of our study. The theoretical basis of our study means the analysis of the specifics and priorities of venture financing, considering the timeframe from venture financing formation to nowadays. Thus, the stages of evolution of views on venture financing are highlighted. The article examines the dynamics of venture financing globally, as well as the change of relevant indicators in Europe, Asia and the United States. In particular, along with the analysis of the total amount of venture financing in each of the considered markets, the volumes of venture financing agreements that were carried out for the first time were estimated. This allowed us to analyze the relevant trends and make conclusions on the priority objects for attracting the resources of venture investors in the era of growth of epidemiological risks, depending on the experience of venture capitalists. The article compares venture funding and the incidence of COVID-19 in some countries in Europe, Asia and the United States. The approaches of European experts to the assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on venture financing are revealed. The analysis of the relevant calculations provides the possibility to structure the priorities of modern venture investors depending on the sectoral distribution of COVID-19 influences. The practical value of the study is considered within a comprehensive analysis of trends in venture financing and assessment of changes in the priorities of venture investors, considering the increasing epidemiological risks. The research may be useful both in the context of developing public venture financing policies and within developing venture financing strategies at the business level.


1981 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-294
Author(s):  
Don Wells

This article examines a survey and analysis of 41 State Department of Education definitions of gifted and talented. A conceptual framework of components is presented as a means of definition analysis. Definitions are examined and discussed in relation to those characteristic components. Current trends in definitions are placed in an historical context revealing the expansion and refinement of expansion components in definitions for the gifted and talented. The definition issue is discussed in relation to societal values and expectations as they pertain to gifted individuals.


2019 ◽  
pp. 349-377
Author(s):  
Jennifer Fleming ◽  
Masato Kajimoto

This study examines how college educators in Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Malaysia adopted and adapted lessons gleaned from a news literacy curriculum developed by journalism instructors at Stony Brook University in New York. In doing so, the chapter situates the emerging field of news literacy within parameters of its parent field, media literacy, and current trends in digitization, globalization, and information freedom. Details on how educators in Asia made a pedagogy designed for American citizens relevant to their students and how they negotiated country-specific social, cultural, and political contexts are included. Future directions in research include more in-depth and comparative understandings of the processes at work in localizing media literacy frameworks as well as an exploration of what media literacy educators in the United States and other democracies can learn from their counterparts in countries where accessing, creating, and disseminating information could be considered subversive activities.


2018 ◽  
pp. 160-184
Author(s):  
Catherine M. Appert

This chapter shows how palimpsestic practices of hip hop genre produce diasporic connections. It describes how hip hop practices of layering and sampling delink indigenous musical elements from traditional communicative norms to rework them in hip hop, where they signify rootedness and locality in ways consistent with hip hop practice in the United States. It demonstrates that this process relies on applications of hip hop time (musical meter) as being fundamentally different from indigenous music, whose local appeal is contrasted with hip hop’s global intelligibility. It outlines how hip hop concepts of flow free verbal performance from lyrical referentiality to render it a musical element. It argues that these practices of hip hop genre, in their delinking of sound and speech, reshape understandings of the relationship between commercialism and referentiality, and suggests that voice therefore should be understood to encompass artists’ agency in pursuing material gain in the face of socioeconomic struggle.


Build ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 169-184
Author(s):  
Mark Katz

The conclusion considers the value of the partnership between hip hop and diplomacy. Hip hop diplomacy has value in convening groups unlikely to collaborate otherwise; it can be a source of validation for hip hop artists and their communities; and it can generate a favorable view of the United States and good will towards its citizens. Such positive outcomes, however, are not automatic and require that programs be conducted with respect, humility, self-awareness and a willingness to collaborate with local partners. Although the State Department faced severe funding cuts in the first years of the Trump administration, hip hop diplomacy has remained well-funded, although its future is uncertain. Specific anecdotes and case studies come from Next Level programs in Bangladesh, El Salvador, and Morocco.


Build ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 81-108
Author(s):  
Mark Katz

This chapter explores the central tensions that animate hip hop diplomacy. One tension is between art and diplomacy, particularly in their distinctive approaches to process and views on outcomes. A second tensions arises because of the asymmetry of power between the United States and the countries that hip hop diplomacy programs visit. This chapter posits that hip hop diplomacy (and cultural diplomacy in general) operates in a zone of ambiguity, a state in which palpable, inescapable tensions and uncertainties hang over one’s every action. Specific examples come from hip hop diplomacy initiatives in El Salvador, India, Morocco, Senegal, and Zimbabwe. The chapter ends by offering guidelines for respectful, collaborative interactions in cultural diplomacy and cultural exchange programs.


Build ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Mark Katz

The introduction explains why the partnership between hip hop diplomacy is unlikely and risky but also potentially productive. Hip hop is a powerful platform for US cultural diplomacy because it is globally popular, widely accessible, readily combined with a variety of artistic styles and practices, and immediately and positively associated with the United States. Hip hop diplomacy can serve US foreign policy objectives by enhancing the image of the United States and promoting US interests abroad. The introduction concludes with a reflection on the author’s identity as a white man and considers its implications for working in hip hop, a genre and culture that arose out of African American communities.


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