Music

Research Field :

International b-boy/b-girl battles; 'global' hip-hop culture; improvisation, social inclusion and creativity in community and dance; visible whiteness; musical tastes, wastes and aversions.

Thesis Title:

"Breaking Worlds: Musical Tastes and Dance Practices"

Abstract:

My current PhD project examines global b-boying/b-girling ('breaking') cultural practices. I discuss the emergence of activities such as international competitions, hip hop theatre performances and media presentations of the dance, as well as local, amateur and creative practices of performers. My research question was simply: What do dancers listen to when they dance, However, the further I traveled with research the more the subject demanded new methodological and theoretical frameworks. The answers I found demonstrate how musical knowledge (skills and competence), tastes and, most importantly, judgments are central to dance practices. I argue that dance is a vital way that people perform their musical tastes and that how they deliver that performance matters.

Supervisor: Prof. Simon Frith (music)

Second Supervisor: Dr. Nick Prior (sociology)

Research Interests: Popular music; cultural sociology; urban, popular and community dance; dance competitions and pedagogy; post-colonial theory; dance historiography; visible whiteness; music mediation.

Conference Papers/Presentations:

‘The Bachelorette's Ball: Freestyle dancing at home and ‘abroad.' Flirting with Uncertainty: Improvisation in Performance. SocArts International Symposium 2010, University of Exeter , UK , March 25-26. (Forthcoming invited talk)

‘Developing Criteria of Judgment for International Breaking Competitions.' Dance Dept. University of Surrey, UK , February 26 th 2010. (Forthcoming invited talk)

‘Unlikely Resemblances: Theorising dance as a performance of musical tastes.' Taking Pleasure Seriously: Theorising Pleasure and Music. British Forum for Ethnomusicology one day conference. November 7 2009, King's College, London , UK .

‘Each One Teach One: B-boying and Ageing.' Music scenes and ageing panel (chair: Prof. Andy Bennett with panelist Dr. Jodie Taylor). What's it Worth ‘Value' and Popular Music. Annual conference of IASPM-ANZ, University of Auckland , New Zealand , November 28 2009.

‘Beyonce's “Single Ladies” music video and dance fan communities online.' Popular Music and Everyday Life symposium. Popular Music Research Group, Centre for Public Culture and Ideas, Griffith University , Brisbane , Australia, November 20 2009.

'Towards a social history of a spectacular urban dance.' Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane , Australia , November 19 2009. (Invited guest lecture)

'Shane Mercado does Beyoncé: Dance practice and music mediation.'Music Research Seminar. University of Edinburgh , January 2009. SEDIT (Scottish Ethnomethodology, Discourse, Interaction & Talk), April 2009.

'Creating Aesthetic Reactions: Judges, DJs, competitors and audiences at International B-boy/b-girl competitions'. Scottish Pop Academic Network (SPAN). Glasgow University , October 2008.

'Popular Music and Dance Practices: A History of Connoisseurship.' International Association for the Study of Popular Music UK . Annual conference. Glasgow University , Sept 2008.

'Archiving performances: Subcultural video making practices and music soundtracks.' Screen Conference. Glasgow University , Scotland , July 2-6 2008.

'Wittgenstein's grinding teeth: Listening to dance and hearing music.' Dance, Timing, and Musical Gesture. Institute for Music in Human and Social Development (IMHSD). Edinburgh University , June 2008.

'Morality in Popular Dance Practices.' (about dance copyright) International Association for the Study of Popular Music - Canada . Annual conference. Brock University , St. Catharines , Canada , May 9-11 2008.

'"Whatever happened to 'breakdancing'"' New Frontiers in Arts Sociology: Creativity, Support and Sustainability, Conference of the European Sociological Association, Luneburg , Germany , March 29 2007.

''Where street dance meets club culture: Underground videos, travel and star-images in Toronto 's b-boy/b-girl scene, 1990-1996.' Manchester : Music and Place. Manchester Metropolitan University , UK , 2006.

'Where street dance meets club culture: Music, place and dance in Toronto 's b-boy/b-girl scene, 1990-1995.' Popular Culture and the Local. Brock University , St. Catharines , Ontario , Canada , 20

''K-OS' music videos: Representations of Canadian street dancers.' Popular Culture Forum, Brock University , St. Catharines , Ontario , Canada , 2006.

'Ventriloquism and musical suture: Performances of popular dance in music videos.' Mapping the New Knowledge Conference, Brock University , St. Catharines , Ontario , Canada , 2006.

Awards:

Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme (ORSAS) Award, University of Edinburgh ;

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship;

Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC);

Mark S.Bonham Scholarship. Inside Out Toronto Film and Video Festival;

Faculty of Arts Alumni Award, University of Western Ontario ;

University of Western Ontario In-Course Scholarship;

Warner Brothers Home Video Award;

Best Film Award: University of Western Ontario (director/editor).

Other:

Lecturer in Dance, Institute for Performing Arts Development (IPAD), University of East London . Modules include: Urban Dance: Histories and Styles; Choreography and Performance; Interdisciplinary Arts Skills; Study Skills. (2009-present)