Diagramming a Timeline of Dance

Abstract

This article traces the developments of the project For There to be a Timeline — GENEALOGIES OF DANCE AS Art PRACTICE IN PORTUGAL from 2016 to 2021, wherein a state of the art regarding the production of dance performances throughout the twentieth century was generated. In particular, a chronological map with entries referring to protagonists, institutions, events and contexts was drawn heuristically, each iteration corresponding to the exhibition of a different timeline, taking place in theatrical venues as well as independent art spaces, and institutional museums. This procedure allowed for essaying temporary versions of the histories being told, resulting in a collection of perspectives which offer an overview of dance in Portugal throughout the twentieth century. The comparative historiography which guided the research from the beginning is expounded and analyzed, in particular with regards to the socio-political, but also of pedagogies and critical reception. The various ways in which the collected contents were shown in relation to one another and in relation to the chronological representations of the century are discussed, allowing to comment on the project character and results, in particular its open endedness and potential reformulation.