Current Trends in Contemporary Choreography: A Political Critique

Kolb discusses recent trends in contemporary choreography that works towards participatory, collaborative, and what are termed immersive modes of performance. Aesthetic choices are rarely politically neutral, and the current preference for these strategies manifests a certain type of ideological perspective. But this politics often dwells beneath the surface of consciousness, in some cases figuring only implicitly in the intentions of creative artists themselves. Engaging with the aesthetic strategies and implicit political stances of such works, Kolb questions the rhetoric of many of their practitioners and commentators who suggest that they are liberatory, transgressive, and challenging to the societal and/or artistic status quo.