Abstract
This thesis proposes a theoretical reconceptualisation of the subject of dance as taught in secondary education in England and Wales. The conceptualisation which underpins the current dance as art model is made problematic by postmodernism, the status of knowledge in postmodemity and the reinterpretation of modernism occurring within academia. The GCSE and GCE A Level specifications, developed in 1986 and 1988 respectively, and their modernist paradigm, seem open to challenge by current practice within the art form of dance. A Foucauldian genealogical approach is employed to track continuity and change within the three organising principles by which dance subject content is ordered within these specifications. A detailed textual analysis, using Derridean and Foucauldian approaches, reveals the problematic use of formalist analytical frameworks. I question how and in what manner knowledge is constrained and show how the study of current practice is marginalised. The nature of current practice is examined by analysis of the UK dance landscape in 2004-5. A textual analysis of the critics’ reviews and other documentation allows the identification of challenges within current practice. A case study of Akram Khan’s ma (2004), selected for its hybrid style which seems resistant to formalist analysis, is undertaken. Postcolonial, feminist and cultural studies theorists are used to throw into relief the opinions expressed by the critics who, it is proposed, use formalist analytic strategies similar to those outlined in the specifications. This type of critique results in problematic evaluations of ma. I argue for an intertextual analysis of ma to provide a more appropriate interpretation of the work. The organising principles of dance education are re-characterised and a new theoretical conceptualisation is proposed on which dance educators, and those responsible for writing specifications in the future, might draw to construct more detailed curriculum practice.