Abstract:
This research critically reflects on international education in dance, specifically focusing on the personal narratives and journeys of seven female contemporary dance practitioners from the southern Mediterranean region. These women, from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Malta, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Syria, all trained in contemporary dance in Western cultural contexts and then returned home to teach, perform or create dance in various ways. The key question prompting this research is: how has the experience of training in contemporary dance in a Western cultural context affected the dance practices of seven female dancers from the southern Mediterranean? From this starting point further questions are also explored, such as: why did these dance practitioners train in contemporary dance abroad, where did they go and what influenced their decisions? Conversely, why did they return home and what influenced this decision? What were their experiences of receiving contemporary dance training in a different cultural context and how were their experiences similar or diverse? How has the experience of international education in dance affected their notions of identity, place and home? How do they approach dance in their home environments once they return? This multi-sited ethnographic research was gathered over a year long period that I, the researcher, spent travelling across the southern Mediterranean region. Through in-depth personal narratives and detailed observations diverse experiences of dance learning are shared, illuminating how an international education in dance can foster feelings of alienation as well as transformation. The women’s experiences highlight how artistic practices can be affected by learning in Western cultural contexts in assorted ways, and reveal approaches that express cultural hegemony, counterhegemony and anti-hegemony within pedagogic, choreographic and creative, and somatic practices. This research provides an articulation and critical reflection of the attitudes and experiences of the seven female dance practitioners, contributing to the knowledge and understandings of international education in dance, and dance within the southern Mediterranean region.