Project description
The white gaze: marginalising Black dancers in Swiss theatres
The racial challenges faced by Black dancers in Switzerland, the underrepresentation of African female dancers in official dance institutions, the growing demand for recognition of queer identities and the recent diversity policies highlight the realities of Swiss theatres. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the POLITENESS project will examine the hegemonic norms that affect dancing bodies considered as 'othered'. This exclusion from Swiss contemporary concert dance comes in contrast with the significant presence of Black dancers in the fields of 'African traditional dances' and hip-hop culture. The project will explore how these dancers are perceived through a white lens, address the double marginalisation faced by Black LGBTQIA+ dancers and question structural racism within dance institutions. It aligns with the Black Lives Matter movement, advocating for systemic change.
Objective
This research addresses the experience of Otherness in Swiss contemporary concert dance, exploring the mechanisms of othering/exclusion. Drawing on the under-representation of Black dancers in Swiss theatres, contrasted with their prominence in Sub-Saharan African dances and Hip-Hop (and on international theatre stages), the research focuses on the few dancers who have managed to carve out a place within this predominantly White dance institution. It aims at understanding how their bodies are perceived under the White gaze: exoticized, eroticized, sexualized? The near absence of African female dancers, the racial challenges faced by Black female dancers born in Switzerland, and the growing demand for recognition of queer identities in Swiss art, are crucial aspects of this study. A special focus lies on the double exclusion faced by Black sexual minority identities.
Rooted in social anthropology and dance studies, this investigation combines choreographers’ and dancers’ perspectives with performance narratives and dance institutions’ discourses. It addresses a significant gap in European scholarly research on contemporary concert dance regarding the experiences of ‘Othered’ dancing bodies, articulating race, gender and dance. The project aims at uncovering the imaginaries embedded in the White gaze projected onto dancing Black bodies, examining the disruptive strategies used by dancers/choreographers considered as ‘Others’ to subvert dominant norms, and assessing the presence of structural racism in dance institutions. As Black dancers increasingly assert their visibility, and as diversity policies recently emerged in Switzerland, this research aims to contribute to social transformation echoing the Black Lives Matter movement. Thereby, it challenges Switzerland’s self-perception of its history as being devoid of colonial influences and confronts its responsibilities regarding race issues.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
CV1 5FB Coventry
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.