Dance is a diverse cultural phenomenon. Traditional forms continue their existence, migrate and merge with new forms. Some forms are widely known, recognized and practiced, some are familiar mostly to communities practicing or researching them. Nordic Journal of Dance: Practice, Education and Research acknowledges this diversity and welcomes contributions regarding any dance form. The editorial board aims at enhancing interest and awareness across dance forms, ways of practicing and studying them within the Nordic dance community.
The four articles presented in this issue focus on ballet, contemporary dance, modern dance, and social dance. The authors’ approaches vary as well: some focus on practice and on embodied experiences, some draw mainly from historical archives and resources. The practical articles have a research orientation, and the research articles are rooted in practice. Practice and research are thus interconnected.
The first article by Joye Chua and Hannele Niiranen focuses on ballet pedagogy, and discusses the difficulty of attracting boys to ballet studies. It is a practical article, but includes a rich literature review and a theoretically framed pedagogical discussion. The line between practical and research contributions is sometimes very thin, delineated most often by the presentation of empirical data that are systematically collected and analysed, and the discussion of methodology that has guided the process. The second article by Cecilia Roos is also practical, despite that it is connected to ongoing research. Here, the focus is on embodied experience and the works by the Swedish choreographer Per Jonsson, and especially on how traditions are reenacted by dance revival and reconstruction.
The issue includes two peer-reviewed research articles. In her contribution, Johanna Laakkonen explores the interplay between early modern dance and theatre in Finland by focusing on Maggie Gripenberg’s (1881–1976) work in Helsinki in the 1920s and 1930s. Laakkonen’s article is a rare example of a cross-disciplinary analysis concerning theatre and dance. The second research article also comes from Finland. Here, Petri Hoppu investigates the possibilities of an embodied perspective in the research of couple and group dances. He is applying phenomenological research methodology, a more familiar approach in Nordic dance research context. A book review by Susanne Frederiksen concludes the issue.
As in the previous issue, all articles are written in English. The emphasis is on Finnish authors’ work. As the editor, also based in Finland, I feel a little uneasy about this situation, but on the other hand, also a little bit proud. We are a small nation with a peculiar language – maybe this is why the need to reach out internationally is very strong. However, I hope that the next issues will be more diverse even in terms of nationalities of authors. I encourage all practitioners and researchers to contribute to the Nordic Journal of Dance: Practice, Education and Research.
Eeva Anttila
Editor