Dance as Portrayed in the Media

Abstract The portrayal of dance in the media is of a current educational interest for dancers, dance educators, as well as the viewers of the performance. I seek to determine how knowledge construction of dance develops within the public sphere. With the knowledge construction of dance epistemologically and ethically in mind, this research focuses on the way the ideology of written language is used to describe dance in the western world in the media. The media is a form of literacy that helps the public sphere access knowledge and build their knowledge of dance. Yet, the public sphere has the potential to influence the media’s knowledge construction of dance. This article attempts to answer a question that many dancers and non-dancers have. What is dance according to the media? How does the written word portray dance in the media? To answer these questions, the research focuses on the role that the discourse of dance in the media plays in the public sphere’s knowledge construction of dance. This is important to study because the public sphere’s meaning of dance will determine whether or not dance education is promoted or banned in schools and in society.