DR PAUL SADOT

Unsteady State: hip hop dance artists in the space(s) of UK dance theatre

ABSTRACT

This thesis examines new ways of working with hip hop dance artists in the space of UK dance theatre from an artist-led, practice research perspective. The evolution of praxis that is explored is based on three studio projects: the BLOCK project (2015), two micro projects (2017) and the final exposition (2018). The research examines the dialogic relationship between the movement(s) of hip hop dance artists in the space of UK dance theatre and historico-temporal, sociocultural, political and economic forces conceptualised as the UK hip hop dance theatre (HHDT) ‘metaspace’. In doing so, it asks why, how, when and where dance takes place in the UK, who is granted access to it and under what conditions. Responding to the metaspatial forces that it critiques, the research develops the role of the choreodramaturg as an explicitly politicised practitioner who responds to the metaspace by invoking processual turbulence and unsteadiness in the studio. The research process is informed by an evolving theoretical framework that draws on cultural theory, dramaturgy, hip hop dance theory, contemporary dance theory and performance politics. In particular, Edward Soja’s (1996) concept of Thirdspace was influential in developing a processual Thirdspace model for HHDT. Additionally, the research draws on artist journals and interviews conducted with a range of UK hip hop dance/theatre practitioners as key means of bringing practitioner voices into the research project. In this thesis I argue that complex metaspatial conditions play a supervisory role in choreographic outputs of HHDT artists in the UK. Furthermore, the practice research demonstrates that the development of metaspatial knowledge can be an intrinsic part of choreographic practice and a processual tool that is capable of challenging such conditions.

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Additional Examiners Report:

The thesis sets out an innovative critical assessment of hip hop dance theatre in the UK and integrates a multi-disciplinary framework through which to interrogate questions of precarity, commercialisation, hierarchies of power, institutionalisation and creativity within the field.  The practice as research component constructs specific tasks investigating constraints identified in the development of the field and its situation within mainstream theatre spaces. The written component engages well with the issues posed in the practice, and the trajectory of the project components achieve the aims and provide substantial material in response to the research questions.  Documentation of the practical component is clear and commendable, offering a valuable model for other scholars. 

The candidate responded well to the examiners’ questions, illuminating the rich integration of social and cultural studies discourses, the impact of economic realities on artistic practice, and connections between political issues and creative imperatives. It was an engaging and illuminating viva that reinforced the innovative aspects of the thesis and the interchange between the practical and theoretical investigations. Examiners urged the candidate to publish the work in key journals, such as DRJ (Dance Research Journal), but also to explore other avenues to disseminate the artistic findings within the hip hop theatre community.