It's All in the Hips: Sexual and Artistic Minority in Canadian Concert Jazz Dance

Abstract

Contemporary sexual norms in Canada continue to dictate how sexuality should be presented on the stage in many styles of theatrical dance. Jazz dance is not excluded from this practice; in fact, since the early days of social dancing, jazz dance has often been considered synonymous with gratuitously deviant sex and sexuality. In contemporary artistic circles, concert jazz dance often finds itself subject to an additional classification as low-art because of this perceived relationship between sex and the dancing. This artistically marginalized position of concert jazz implies a conservative heteronormativity in Canada that is contrary to our apparent inclusion of subjugated sexual minorities as “normal.” “It's All in the Hips” explores sexuality in contemporary Canadian concert jazz dance to illustrate the potential for representations of marginalized sexualities on stage, and the perceived threat to artistic hegemony. While there is growing research into sexuality on the American stage in ballet and modern dance through scholars such as Jane C. Desmond, Jennifer Fisher, Susan Leigh Foster, and others, and also into jazz's roots in social dancing by Susan Manning, Anthea Kraut, Julie Malnig, and a growing host of scholars, very little work has been done on the Canadian concert jazz scene, save for the work of Iro Tembeck, Mark Miller, Meilan Lam, and a handful of dancers. This paper examines the intersection between sexual and artistic minority in Canadian concert jazz dance and problems that arise for positioning the form to dance audiences as high art.