Abstract

Sex, Art, and Audience responds to and discusses issues raised by ballet, modern dance, and non-Western performances during the 1980s and 1990s. The essays examine the subject of gender and sexuality in performances, the relationship of the dance performance to its audience, and the important but puzzling fact that dance, alone amongst art forms, lacks a reproducible text. In addition, these essays consider the development of classical style in the works of modern choreographic masters such as George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, and Merce Cunningham. Through its five chapters, Sex, Art, and Audience develops an aesthetic stance of contextual viewing: dance is most productively seen in its place among other art forms, and the arts collectively as a constituent, if distinct, part of our lives as a whole.