We are delighted to unveil the Traditional Dance Criticism Course – our new curatorial initiative designed to help dance practitioners advance their professional development and engage with the world of dance journalism. The course will provide an insight into what working in the journalism industry involves, with a focus on traditional dance writing and publishing, pitching new ideas, and critic’s ethics.
The Traditional Dance Criticism Course is divided into 8 curated modules making it easy to follow along and revisit the materials in your own time and at your own pace. You will have access to the course materials, assessments, tutorials, study resources and mentorship support. If you are new to working in this industry and want to gain a basic level of understanding of writing and journalism, this course will equip you with the knowledge and support you may need to know more.
Intrigued? Read all the guidelines below to find out more, including how to apply by filling in this brief application form online as an expression of interest by the deadline of 1 July 2024. Please note that the submissions are now closed.
However, if you are bringing a performative or a participatory show rooted in Scottish or world traditional dance to any of the Edinburgh summer festivals this year, please get the person involved with publicity to email us at info@tdfs.org by 22 July 2024. This would help us make sure we don’t miss anyone out as we select shows to be listed as part of our #traddance campaign and reviewed as part of the first-of-its-kind Traditional Dance Criticism Course.
TRADitional DANCE CRITICISM Course Overview
- Course Type: 60% Online and 40% In-person Course
- Syllabus: 8 course modules
- Duration: 12.5 hours, guided
- Timeframe: 23 July – 26 August 2024
- Publication: Yes, via Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland
- Tutor Support: Support and mentorship included
- Price: Free, thanks to funding provided by TASGAQH
Learning Outcomes
- At the end of the course, you will be equipped with the tools to evaluate traditional dance in a performance and participatory context, as well as think and write critically about traditional dance.
- This course will also provide you with a practical, industry-focused skills set that will enable you to pitch your ideas to future interested publications and outlets.
- As a key outcome of the course you will write at least 2 critical pieces of about 350-word each based on a traditional dance experience in a performance and participatory context as part of the Edinburgh summer festivals 2024, to be published by the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland.
Course Syllabus
- Introduction to dance criticism
- Focus on traditional dance
- Overview of the journalism industry and ethics
- Assignment of selected shows
- Individual traditional dance critical writing following visits to selected shows at Edinburgh summer festivals
- Group feedback
- Individual tutorials
- Publication of Individual traditional dance critical writing
Course Activities
- Group visits to two dance performances as part of Edinburgh summer festivals 2024
- Facilitated individual visits to dance performances as part of Edinburgh summer festivals 2024
- Discussing ideas and gaining feedback on your written work
- Developing an individual critical approach and writing style
- Exploring opportunities for publishing work
- Amplifying the role of traditional dance in participatory and performance settings and the press
Course SUPPORT
The course support will be discussed on the first day of the Traditional Dance Criticism Course. You will have access to the course materials, assessments, tutorials, study resources and mentorship support. Upon successful completion of the Traditional Dance Criticism Course you will be able to add their newly-gained skills and achievements to their CV.
Entry requirements
The Traditional Dance Criticism Course is suitable for dance artists and practitioners who want to enhance their understanding of traditional dance criticism, improve their critical writing skills and explore finding a personal voice.
No previous knowledge of traditional dance criticism is required. A good grasp of spoken and written English and dance experience, however, is essential. Please note that this course is for learners aged 18 and older who are planning to be based in and around Edinburgh for the duration of the in-person components of the course 31 July-26 August 2024.
Enrolling in the Traditional Dance Criticism Course 2024 is free of charge for up to 6 learners due to the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland securing funding from TASGAQH. Therefore, the entry to the course in 2024 is based on filling in this brief application form online as an expression of interest: https://forms.office.com/e/xB654czpCs
Following the submission deadline of 1 July 2024 11:59 British Summer Time, up to 6 learners will be selected to undertake the Traditional Dance Criticism Course 2024. The selection panel includes the tutor and representatives of the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland. Applicants will be selected on the basis of their dance background and interest in Scottish and world traditional dance, alongside having a clear and defined need for why they wish to take part in the course and how it will benefit their wider practice. All applicants will be notified by 3 July 2024. The course will run online and in-person 23 July – 26 August 2024.
Course Background
The Traditional Dance Criticism Course is the first of its kind. It is curated by the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland in response to the fact that the wider journalism industry falls short of traditional dance criticism. Criticism is typically described as the descriptive analysis of a dance performance that is printed, broadcast or transmitted electronically. Although there has been an increased academic discourse around traditional dance in Scotland, most recently with the publication of books like Dance Legacies of Scotland by Mats Melin and Scottish Dance Beyond 1805: Reaction and Regulation by Patricia H. Ballantyne, there has been virtually no traditional dance criticism in the mainstream media.
As a producing company conceiving, curating and touring new traditional dance performances, Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland fills in a significant genre gap in Scotland’s performing arts ecology. In relation to this we have also identified the need for an informed critical discourse around those staged performances rooted in traditional dance.
The pilot Traditional Dance Criticism Course will run 23 July – 26 August 2024 alongside Edinburgh’s summer festivals. It will build on the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland initiative for highlighting the contribution of traditional dance artists in the programmes of Edinburgh’s summer festivals for the last two years. In 2022 we hand-picked just over ten shows with trad dance roots. In 2023 we selected 20 shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe alone, including our Fringe debut as producers Thistles and Sunflowers.
The course is thus framed around selected Edinburgh’s summer festivals shows. This is to allow the participating learners access to world premieres and space for critical discourse, as well as an opportunity to contribute to the summer festivals. Learners are expected to produce at least two critical responses to the shows in both performative and participatory context of about 350 words each, ranging from traditional reviews to creative reflections, depending on their individual interest.
Course Tutor
The Traditional Dance Criticism Course will be led by the established dance writer and editor based in Scotland and the USA Róisín O’Brien. It will be supported pro bono by Dr Wendy Timmons, Senior Lecturer in Dance Science and Education at the University of Edinburgh and part of the Editorial Board for Research in Dance Education Journal.
Róisín O’Brien’s experience includes:
- Contribution to bylines in The Guardian, Fjord Review, Springback Magazine and The Skinny. Editor for European organisation Aerowaves on 25 years of Aerowaves special publication and Springback Magazine collaboration with Norrlandsoperan Re-Think project.
- Experience in delivering dance writing workshops and courses for Aberdeen’s CityMoves DanceLive Festival; Scotland’s festival of dance on screen, i.e screen.dance festival; UK-wide publication dance art journal and the University of Glasgow.
- Expertise in contemporary dance and ballet, but with knowledge of how to apply and bring critical skills to different art practices and forms, including Scottish and world traditional dance.
Course Schedule
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Course impact
It is important to note that any art form, including any form of Scottish and world traditional dance, grows and broadens its own creative possibilities when in conversation with a knowledgeable and critical surrounding discourse. Increased discussion of an art form not only enriches its artists, it also brings the art form into greater visibility in the wider public imagination, which can ultimately bring in new communities and audiences and help secure the art form’s standing in a cultural ecosystem.
Through the Traditional Dance Criticism Course we, at Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland, seek to achieve the following long-lasting and wide-reaching impact:
- Nurture a new community of trad dance critics in Scotland who could continue to apply their new skills thereafter
- Convert dance practitioners whose interests extend beyond the physical act of dancing to the critical analysis of dance performances
- Develop a strong foundation in diverse traditional dance criticism across Scotland
- Empower anyone undertaking this course to contribute to the celebration and appreciation of the diverse traditional dance forms we feel so passionate about and the intangible cultural heritage they embody
- Form a group of knowledgeable traditional dance specialists who can engage with the discipline in an insightful and curious manner, and promote Scottish and world traditional dance to the wider public
- Work towards launching a new traditional dance criticism platform to merge our love for trad dance and the written word and promote it through our online presence on tdfs.org and linktr.ee/traddanceforumscotland
- Work towards an independently-certified Continuing Professional Development opportunity with guidance, mentorship and resources to excel in the field of Scottish and world traditional dance criticism
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Images by Neil Hanna from our production Elegies performed as part of Pomegranates Festival on 27 April 2024 at Netherbow Theatre, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh. Elegies is the first dance adaptation for the stage of Hamish Henderson’s series of poems Elegies for the Dead in Cyrenaica (1948). Further details https://linktr.ee/pomegranatesfest
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The pilot edition of the Traditional Dance Criticism Course is funded through TASGADH – a small traditional arts grant awarded to Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland.
