'Dancing home': an exploration of cultural exchange and dance education in a globalized world.

Abstract

This paper examines the experiences of nine female dancers from the Southern Mediterranean region – Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Malta, Jordan, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Syria - who received their formative training in contemporary dance abroad – in England, Germany, France, Italy, the United States of America - and then returned home to perform, teach and create dance. This research takes a multi-sited ethnographical approach. The subject of investigation is viewed from a variety of perspectives, acknowledging the increasing interconnections and globalization of the world, and intends to encourage a dialogue to emerge between the narratives of differing cultures and environments. Numerous semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with the nine women over a ten-month period and their performing, teaching and choreographing was observed to gain further contextual understanding of their creative processes and pedagogical methods. Through the analysis of the interviews, the values and challenges of training in a foreign country and then the subsequent return home to a region where contemporary dance is somewhat undervalued are revealed. The issues pertaining from cultural taboos and societal expectations are shown in the dancers’ experiences when dancing both in their home countries and abroad. The experiences of training abroad raised questions about the support for foreign students in tertiary dance institutions and the importance of cultural sensitivity and understanding at a time where the effects of globalization on dance are increasingly felt. It is apparent that many of the women interviewed feel isolated and lost when they return to dance in their home countries, often experienced as a vacuum, in which they have no peers. Some of the women continue to make dance on their return home, and frequently feel that they have a responsibility to shift the ‘choreo-phobic’ perceptions of the environment in which they are working within. Others feel satisfaction and inspiration in drawing from the richness of their own cultures, and feel that they are able to use dance as a cultural force for claiming social agency and challenging various forms of cultural oppression. Alternatively, some of the women interviewed for this research have stopped dancing entirely and now teach or choreograph. 1 Others have returned abroad to dance as the pressures, expectations and rejection of their art in the home country become too great. As a qualitative, post-positivist study, this research does not attempt to uncover one particular truth or prove a certain hypothesis; rather it aims to construct a layered account of the gathered experiences. It is hoped that this research, although set within the context of dance in the Southern Mediterranean, may also be an appealing and constructive adjunct to discussions on the interaction between the self and culture, individuals and institutions, cultural exchange and transcultural identities. It also may assist in developing supportive, personalized and relevant internationalized learning environments that provide positive experiences for participants engaged in rigorous creative practices.