ABOUT

 

The study being undertaken as part of the MA Dance Education course, which will be submitted for grading in October 2022. It is intended that the work will be published in a peer reviewed journal, and participants will be emailed a link as the work is published. Expected early 2023.

 

No data in this study will be used within another study.

 

 

CONTEXT

 

While the vocabulary of dance is expanding in exciting ways, a rigid gender binary persists in much of dance today.

 

In 2017 the UK Government found that over 13% of LGTBQIA+ people were non-binary or transgender. This is without accounting for non-gendered and other non-cis gendered people.  They also indicated that younger people were more likely to identify as non-binary.

 

Within Higher Education conservatoire-style dance settings, I am becoming increasingly aware of non cis-gendered students, and I want to investigate what I can do to facilitate a more inclusive environment for those students, without alienating cis-gendered students.

 

The study aims to be a space for non-cis, agender and cis-gendered dancers to creatively explore gender through dance.

 

The study seeks representation and inclusion of the following demographics:

 

2/3 cis-gendered males

2/3 cis-gendered females

9+ non-cis and agender participants

 

The number of participants will be 20 max

​

To be considered for this study you must:

• Be over the age of 18.

• Be in full time training at a Higher Education Institution, studying dance as a primary genre (i.e.. Jazz, Ballet, Musical Theatre)

• Have graduated in the last three years from a Higher Education Institution studying dance as a primary genre. (i.e.. Jazz, Ballet, Musical Theatre)

​

​

​

You do not have to be known to the researcher before applying for inclusion in the study.

Opportunities to meet online (zoom) and in person will be provided for those who would like to attend before the study begins.

​

​

​

If you take part in this study, you will be required to:

• Answer a pre-questionnaire. This is to gather information about you and any previous thoughts or experiences with your own or gender as a concept which will be used within the study as a basis for the research.

Estimated 15-20 minutes.

 

• Attend a movement/ dance workshop which will be a collaborative and creative. 

The workshop will be led by the researcher, Anthony Whiteman, who will also be participating.The workshop will be of an intermediate/ advance level and will be related to gendered performance.

The movement and dance will be in a theatrical jazz dance stylistic.

The researcher will also be making notes on the process in relation to the participants and their own practice, which will form part of the study.

You will be asked to write down key words which come to mind, on a flipchart in the studio, to generate a word cloud and provide information on feelings and thoughts from your perspective throughout the workshop

The choreography, once learnt, will be demonstrated with different gendered ‘intentions’ and this will be recorded to provide information for the researcher to analyse and report on within the study.

Some recordings of performances will also be shown as part of the preceding group interview which only workshop participants are involved in.

Estimated 75 minutes.

 

• Contribute to a group interview which will be reflective of the workshop.

This will be a semi-guided conversation with some questions from the researcher to help keep the conversation focused on gender and dance, but also an opportunity for any related information about the topic to be shared.

Some performances from the workshop will be screened, and discussions relating to gender and dance to encourage further discussion by reflecting on what is observed.

The group interview will happen on the same day following the dance workshop.

The process will be audio and video recorded to document communication.

The information will be analysed and used within the study, with some information published within the final report.

Estimated 90 minutes.

 

• Answer a follow up questionnaire about the workshop, and a chance to share anything you feel is relevant that you may not have been able to share as part of the group discussion.

This information will be analysed for the purposed of the study and some may be published within the final report.

Estimated 30-45 minutes.

 

• Agree to NOT SHARE information about other people involved in the study.

​

​

 

You will be asked to dance with a gender ‘intention’ which may not match your gender identity.

 

Conversations may be challenging when talking about gender and agender, which may not match your own identity.

 

Please take this into consideration before you decide to participate in this.

​

​

​

The study will be taking place at a London location to be confirmed 10.00 – 14.00, Date, TBC

​

​

Benefits of participation:

• Be a part of an investigation which aims to build awareness of gender beyond the binary formats within the dance education sector.

• Help create better working environments within dance education for people of all genders, including agender.

• May improve the quality of education that they and others experience

• Help to uncover and indicate appropriate and progressive ways to work with non-cis gendered students within dance education.

• To encourage ways to challenge binary notions within dance.

• To encourage engagement from those who may feel excluded by gender binaries within dance.

• Help provide indications on what may be possible in relation to gender and dance for the wider dance community.

• Allows for critical thinking to explore a topic which may not have been investigated before

• Allows for individual opinions to be heard

• May create more positive educational experiences for themselves and others

• May allow them to consider their own identity and that of their gender within dance

• May allow them to engage with dance and gender in a different way.

 

Negatives of participation:

• Psychological risks arising from interacting with the choreography in a way that does not match your gender identity may be difficult and challenging.

• Discussions around gender and any disclosure of individuals stories may be confrontational or emotionally challenging providing a psychological risk.

• Participants may be emotionally triggered by the nature of the research, where they are asked to engage with a gender which is not their own.

• Physical risk through the participation of dance.

• Participation may bring up challenging conversations.

• Participants may sustain injury with the physical nature of the research.

• Participants will have to give up their time to engage with the research. 4 hours (estimated)

• This will require you to travel to London for the study

 

 

Any unexpected discomforts, disadvantages, or risks to you as a participant, which arises during the research, should be brought immediately to the attention of the researcher.

 

 

Your participation is entirely voluntary and there is no payment for participation.

 

Your participation will remain anonymous and confidential (only seen by myself, tutor(s), second markers and external examiners, unless you express in writing that you would like to be identified.  You will provided with a pseudonym within the publication of the research study.

 

You can decide not to answer any question if you prefer not to, and you can withdraw at any time without giving a reason.  This will not affect your experience and no judgment will be made of you if you choose not to answer a question or withdraw from the study.

 

The audio and video recordings of your activities made during this research will be used only for analysis and processed for use within this study. No other use will be made of them without your written permission, and no one outside the project will be allowed access to the original recordings.

 

Your data will be stored securely and in line with GDPR and will be deleted after the final paper is submitted for academic grading.

 

In the event of any complaint, this should be initially reported to the researcher, Anthony Whiteman.  If you feel that the complaint has not been dealt with sufficiently enough, please contact the tutor and course leader at the above email address.

 

Your signed consent form will be stored separately from the responses you provide

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this information.

 

You may retain this information sheet for reference and contact me with any queries.