Why we need dance criticism

To preserve ephemeral art forms we need to write about them creatively and exactingly.

Image: Keir Choreographic Award semi-finalist Chloe Chignell’s Deep Shine. Photo by Gregory Lorenzutti.

The ephemeral nature of live performance – especially smaller independent works, which can often go almost undocumented – is one of the major reasons why the art of criticism needs to be supported, according to dance historian and critic Jordan Beth Vincent.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts