Dance Identity

Abstract

Chapter 7 examines dance works’ repeatability, that is, their capacity to appear in/through multiple (and potentially quite diverse) performance events. The philosophical problem of identity is introduced as the challenge of explaining when and why two or more performances are of the same work. The chapter explores situations where repeatability seems compromised because the dancer’s own body or personality is deeply implicated in her dance: distinctions are made between various kinds of cases, and an argument is made for repeatability being circumscribed when a dancer’s identity is built into the action-structure of a work. The chapter examines how far notation and scoring practices enable independent articulation of works, considering how notation and ontological views which centre on it (such as those of Nelson Goodman and Graham McFee) struggle to anchor performance identity. The chapter ends with a brief consideration of choreographic copyright practices and disputes and their relationship to ontological concerns.