Consumer dance identity: the intersection between competition dance, televised dance shows and social media

This article employs a theoretical framework, utilizing cultural analysis, to explore how the intersection in the United States between competition dance, televised dance shows, and social media (which will be defined as consumer dance) is affecting the embodiment, pedagogy, and appreciation of dance, and contributing to the objectification and commodification of these dancers. Hegemonic constructions of gender and beauty populate consumer dance, giving birth to identities that are predominately reliant on the sense of sight due to technological changes that have plunged society into a nonstop visual world found on a screen. Engaging with the scholarship of Karen Schupp, Susan Foster, and Alexis Weisbord that examines competition dance, the current consumer dance model is analyzed for how it shapes the dancer's body and psyche. As a researcher, I see an intersection of my identities as a figure skater, modern dancer, choreographer, educator, feminist, and the mother of two daughters who dance informing the trajectory of my research. This scholarship draws from different lenses delving into philosophy, dance studies, feminism, and psychology in order to reveal the complexity of the forces that create consumer dance.