single stories

I was going to blog about last Sundays discussion on theory and frameworks. I was going to write about how theory can allow us to question frame works, how to explore them, how we can look at our practice or frame work through all the different lenses of theory. But I have attended a symposium about fields of knowledge in dance today, which shifted my question from how to use theory to question our frame works, to WHY it is so important to question or even just being aware of the constructs that frameworks are, in the first place.

While the symposium was quite interesting, what struck me at the end of the day was, how often we function and act within a collectively created and upheld framework, or single narrative. While the topic of the symposium was fields of knowledge in dance, what every one was talking about and referring to as dance, was always western contemporary dance. Without specifying it (not even in the program description), some how every one "knew" that when talking about dance, people meant western contemporary dance. This made me wonder how often we just collectively assume things, or see them through one kind of lenses, without realizing, that we are looking through lenses at all and we somehow become blind to all that is excluded from that frame work. Like today: there was no reference or mentioning of fields of knowledge in other dance forms, from other cultural back grounds etc. I mean its ok to focus on one specific form of dance, but it amazed me that most of us didnt think about it as being about one very specific field of dance, but about dance.

Watching the video Adesola posted "in my language" and reflecting on todays experience at the symposium, really makes me think how important it is to question frame works, or even just being aware that we are constantly moving within frame works, and by "following the rules" of the frame work, the frame work is upheld. How enriching it can be, or how differently you can see things if you encounter them with a more open mind. Even if at the and of a process of questioning a frame work, you end up being happy with that frame work, I think to critically think about what we consider "normal" or "obvious" is so important.

This made me also think of a video Helen has posted some time ago, about the danger of a single story:
http://helenkindred.blogspot.com/2018/03/multiple-narratives-multiple.html