ABSTRACT
This essay is the first of a group on the work of choreographer William Forsythe that was initiated by his invitation to see his Artifact in London. It reworks the themes of dancer and critic, but with the emphasis placed on Forsythe’s critical reception in the US and the resistance to theory on the part of the American critical establishment. As with Chapter 2, the assumption that criticism is responsible for its own theoretical coherency results in observations that place the good faith of such writing into question. The idea of the anti-intellectualism of the American dance critical establishment leads to a discussion of the primary elements of post-structuralism as unacceptable to American dance criticism. The relation of post-structuralism to postmodern dance is thus affirmed. From the perspective of creativity, the assumption seems inescapable that creative process and intellectual activity are incommensurable. This is another face of the polarity between performativity and discursivity.
