Behind the Curtain
Chapter 3 assembles data and renders visible gender hierarchies among choreographers in concert dance in the United States today. Recent statistics in the field are explored to establish a baseline for understanding gender in dance on a broader scale. An analysis of gender representation among choreographers is presented through an examination of the 2012, 2013, and 2014 performance seasons at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the American Dance Festival, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The stratified programming of each venue provides a multi-case study for understanding how female choreographers fare within the various levels of public recognition in the dance field, creating a foundation for further discussion of gender in dance. The author’s primary questions ask whether men and women are represented in numbers that reflect their respective populations in the field of dance, and how the production of dance illuminates or undermines gender disparity among dance creators.