Dancers speaking about Dance

Moody and Carter are dancers themselves and the book is written primarily from this perspective, with other (freelance) dancers as the prime audience, although the book should be read by anyone who works or wishes to work in the dance industry. That it is a book written by dancers for dancers is crucial, important and necessary. For too long, discussions surrounding the working conditions and wellbeing of dancers have either not happened at all, or happened without the presence of dancers at the table, resulting in institutional action which often remains purely symbolic for fear of disturbing the status quo. Choreographers have historically been placed on pedestals and lauded as singular ‘geniuses’ solely responsible for bringing a dance performance into being. Although the work of a choreographer in envisioning and leading a project should not be diminished (it is incredibly complex, precarious and skilful labour), this perspective has failed to acknowledge the lived realities of dancers on the workfloor, in the rehearsal studio, and the invaluable contribution they make in order that any dance performance makes it out of a choreographer’s head and into the body, onto the stage. If it were not for dancers, dance shows would not exist. It’s as simple as that. And so it is hugely refreshing to read a book which attempts to empower dancers to find and use their voice and activate their agency to stand up for their position within the creative process. As Audre Lorde has written, ‘there are so many silences to be shattered’. This book, written from the perspective of dancers, brings voice to many issues affecting dancers that have (too) long gone unspoken in the dance world. 

“The book is a tool that can be used by anyone working in the dance world as a first port of call in their own journey of development, a place from which to begin to acknowledge and tackle personal issues that are undoubtedly linked and caused by the structural underpinnings of the field.” 

Cataloguing the Experience of the Dancer

The Dancer’s Handbook reads as an attempt to scan the entire dance field, to reveal the dark corners that are often overlooked or glossed over, often because they are uncomfortable for those with power to properly talk about. It provides a wide overview of the many different situations and obstacles that a dancer may find themselves in during their careers, zooming in and out of different issues and attempting to relate the way in which experiences on the ground relate to and are inevitably embedded in the wider web of patriarchal, capitalist and racist structures that shape all of our working environments and relationships. In this sense it takes on the form of a sort of catalogue which readers can dip into and out of for tips on how to tackle whatever problems they need guidance on, be it issues around consent, body image, working contracts, power abuse, racism, ableism, creating working schedules that respect menstrual cycles, speaking up, or (re)evaluating one’s own motivations to dance. The authors acknowledge their own shortcomings in not being able to speak authoritatively on every single issue, though this is not the point of the book. Rather, it is a tool that can be used by anyone working in the dance world as a first port of call in their own journey of development, a place from which to begin to acknowledge and tackle personal issues that are undoubtedly linked and caused by the structural underpinnings of the field. 

Practical tools and exercises

Interspersed throughout the text are practical exercises to encourage readers to actively work on addressing issues and reflecting on their place as a dance worker within the dance industry. These ‘over-to-you’ moments range from simple exercises in answering questions related to a specific situation to exercises involving movement and embodiment. For example, one exercise asks readers to pinpoint moments in their working lives in which they have witnessed or experienced an abuse of power, and to try to analyse the behaviour and language at work that enabled it. The subsequent exercise then asks readers to work out ways to address the abuse of power, from a list of possible interventions given by the authors. In terms of embodiment, one exercise proposes doing anything you want in a space you feel comfortable in for ten minutes, as a way to analyse the sources of your own movement style, and to try to evaluate how your habitual ways of moving are conditioned by a multitude of different factors which may include our tastes and training as well as how our bodies are perceived from the outside. The exercise is designed to expose how racism, sexism, ableism, beauty standards, and so on, work on our bodies to influence our movement patterns. 

In addition to these exercises, the book also includes practical tools to help readers in certain situations including a particularly useful Checklist for Contracts, a guide on how to give feedback, a Script for Speaking Up, and a helpful guide on how to record and document an incident that involves transgressive behaviour. As I was reading the book and reflecting back on my own career as a dancer, I began to realise how ill-equipped I was to respond effectively in certain situations that happened during classes or rehearsals, and to be able to negotiate fair working conditions and pay with employers when I started working. Many of these skills have historically not been taught in dance schools (although this is arguably changing), even though they are perhaps some of the most valuable skills a freelance dancer can possess in their attempt to carve out a career in a dance industry in which they will not enjoy the same legal protections and advantages as those who are in fixed employment. And I’m sure most of us at one point in our careers have doubted speaking up or demanding fairer conditions for risk of being replaced, and our job or opportunity passed along to someone else who is unemployed and eagerly waiting in the wings. Having a document such as the Checklist for Contracts at hand whenever one is accepting a new job will come as a helpful tool to many dancers as they negotiate and sign contracts for jobs, and avoid situations in which dancers fall into working conditions in which they find themselves undervalued and underpaid. Moreover, I can think of countless moments in my own career when I could’ve benefitted from guidance on how to speak up, and can therefore imagine that many others will find support in the practical advice in the book that talks about how to document incidents of transgressive behaviour and how to use your voice. Having a ready-made script at hand to organise one’s thoughts and reactions to these often very emotional situations can aid many in tackling issues that arise on the workfloor, and help ease how things are communicated and how clearly a point is made. Such practical tools can, through their application and sustained practice, very much help individual freelancers adopt ethical ways of working and stand up for their rights and those of others, and thereby set standards of behaviour and communication that improve working conditions across the board. 

Testimonials 

One of the greatest strengths of the book perhaps comes from the way it is written from lived experiences, with both Moody and Carter being dancers themselves, as well as activists and researchers who have been thinking and working for over a decade on how to reimagine working conditions for dancers, coming into contact with many other dancers in this time. The testimonials and anecdotes from the lives of the authors and other dancers that are peppered throughout the book serve to anchor it in a reality in which I am sure many dancers will relate to, and will make them feel seen and heard. As I was reading the book, these were the moments that popped out and stuck with me. Some stories serve the purpose of bringing to life some of the situations in which dancers were unable to act, whilst others serve to inspire readers by showing cases in which dancers did use their agency or speak out, in which things did change. For example, in this vein, Moody relates a story of how she and a group of sixty dancers working on a film for an advertisement for a luxury perfume brand in Paris decided to go on strike after working long hours which led to one dancer getting injured. The group refused to work until an overtime clause was added to their contracts, and they received extra pay. The producers of the advertisement had no other choice but to accept these demands, which resulted in the sixty dancers not only improving their working conditions and pay but also creating a sense of solidarity which, according to Moody, many had never felt before. Such a story inspires, and proves that speaking up and demanding fair working conditions can work and does work. 

“The Dancer’s Handbook deserves a place on the shelf in all dance companies and educational institutions and anyone working in the dance world would do well to have a copy in their library.”

That said, I was left wanting to hear more such stories. Most of the few stories in the book come from Moody and Carter themselves which, although valuable in and of themselves, could benefit from being placed alongside other stories, from other perspectives, and from a wider range of speakers. As a reader who wishes to enlarge my capabilities to speak up and demand fairer working conditions, I would be eager to hear the ways in which others have confronted the multiple issues raised by the book, in their own ways, and whether these attempts were successful or not, and why.  Although the book does provide a wide array of tips and tools, it does lack therefore in showing these tools at work, or what happens when these tools are not utilised. There are many dancers who will have stories to share in this regard that can serve as a helpful tool to inspire others. 

The Dancer’s Handbook deserves a place on the shelf in all dance companies and educational institutions and anyone working in the dance world would do well to have a copy in their library. That goes not only for dancers, but for anyone who is in some way connected to dance as a profession – choreographers, producers, teachers, technical staff, programmers, audience members and so on. It not only overturns certain stones that many in positions of power would rather not look under, but it also provides practical advice and guidance on how to work to create safer, healthier and more respectful working conditions in the dance world. Some readers may find the academic presentation of the book slightly daunting and as a handbook, it could perhaps benefit from a design which would make it able to fit in a hand. But that being said, it does well to provide an overview of many of the issues that dancers can face and should be a resource that everyone has at hand should they choose a career in dance.