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"In the name of harmony". The imaginary of whiteness in the field of contemporary dance
« Au nom de l'harmonie ». L'imaginaire de la blanchité dans le champ de la danse contemporaine
Julien Debonneville
Traduction de Jean-Yves Bart
Cet article est une traduction de :
« Au nom de l'harmonie ». L'imaginaire de la blanchité dans le champ de la danse contemporaine [fr]
Résumé | Plan | Notes de l'auteur | Texte | Bibliographie | Notes | Citation | Auteurs
This article considers the social construction of bodies from the angle of the imaginary of whiteness and of racialization processes in the transnational contemporary dance field, in an effort to evidence how bodies become marked by racial difference in auditions and during the creative process. Based on a qualitative sociological study of dancers and choreographers active in the field, it begins by showing that whiteness constitutes a deeply invisibilized hegemonic norm whose performative effects contribute to producing othered bodies. It then examines how the dancers and choreographers in question appropriate and revalue this difference through their creative practices. They are able to subvert these assignations by resorting to choreographic and bodily aesthetic registers built around the idea of creolization and hybridity.
1. Behind the Scenes of an Ethnographic Study in a Transnational Artistic Space
2. Bodies in Motion Through the Prism of the Imaginary of Whiteness
3. Hegemonic Whiteness in Contemporary Dance
3.1. Whiteness as a Principle of Social Organization
3.2. Whiteness as the Frontier of an Artistic World
3.3. "Preserving the Harmony of Bodies": Whiteness as a Norm in Hiring and Creation
3.4. Whiteness as a Technical Norm
4. Creating From the Margins
Notes de l'auteur
This article was written during a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Social and Cultural Diversity, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity (Göttingen, Germany), granted by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). I would like to thank these organizations for their support.
1Cet article interroge la construction sociale des corps au prisme d'un imaginaire de la blanchité et des processus de racialisation dans le champ transnational de la danse contemporaine afin de comprendre comment les corps deviennent marqués par la différence raciale lors des auditions et du travail de création. Fondé sur une enquête sociologique qualitative avec des danseurs et danseuses et des chorégraphes circulant dans ce champ, il expose dans un premier temps comment la blanchité représente une norme hégémonique fortement invisibilisée dont les effets performatifs participent à produire des corps altérisés. Nous verrons par la suite comment les danseur·euse·s et les chorégraphes marqué·e·s par cette différence se réapproprient et revalorisent cette dernière à travers des pratiques de création. L'enquête soulignera dès lors comment ces dernier·ère·s peuvent subvertir ces assignations par l'intermédiaire de registres chorégraphiques et d'esthétiques des corps pensés autour de l'idée de créolisation et d'hybridité.
1 Here the author draws on Amandine Dumont's (2019) work.
2 This is a reference to writings by Noémi Michel, who uses the phrase "bodies marked by racial diffe (...)
2On 8 February 2021, Pap Ndiaye and Constance Rivière's report on diversity at the Paris Opera was made public. The authors found that "the Paris opera is not a place of diversity […], it is a white world that is a far cry from what contemporary French society looks like" (Ndiaye & Rivière 2021: 25). They also note that the body in "classical ballet has been shaped by white actions, by dancers with white or whitened bodies", with white constituting "the neutral, if not the universal rule, all other bodies being perceived […] as 'exceptional bodies', 'untamed bodies' that 'take up too much space or cause discomfort, embarrassment'" (Ndiaye & Rivière 2021: 241). In this article I set out to question this hegemonic norm of whiteness (Cervulle 2012) with a focus on the European transnational contemporary dance field, to gain an understanding of how bodies are named, classified, hierarchized through the idea of "racial difference"2 in artistic practices. To this end, I have conducted an ethnographic study on the normalization of bodies, considered as discursive scripts informed by social imaginaries (Appadurai 2001), whose performative effects (Butler 2005) make a mark on dancing bodies. In this sense, the body is a "social and cultural phenomenon, a substance of symbol, an object of representations and imaginaries"(Le Breton 2010: 3). More broadly, the body should not be reduced to its physical or physiological dimension, but instead be approached as a "multifunctional, polysemic reality, playing on various social registers (economic, political, ideological, symbolic...)" (Berthelot 1983: 126). The body may also be a potential metaphor, a possible counterpoint, or a site of symbolic incarnation (Berthelot 1983: 126).
3 According to Colette Guillaumin, the idea of minoritized social groups directly relates to the conc (...)
3Among the imaginaries that circulate in the dance field, gender plays a structuring role in the construction of bodies (Marquié 2016) and has been the focus of many studies. However, while sociological studies on contemporary dance – as well as classical and modern dance – have gradually come to consider gender relations (Valentin 2000; Faure 2004; Sorignet 2004a, 2004b; Fisher & Say 2009; Lefevre 2015; Vionnet 2015; Marquié 2007, 2011, 2016), the ways in which imaginaries shape racial difference have seldom been addressed so far. Few scholars have attempted to describe how processes of racialization of bodies work in the contemporary dance field, be they othered bodies or white bodies (as social constructs [Ahmed 2004]). While the field is characterized by a particularly "small number of dancers from North and Sub-Saharan Africa" (Sorignet 2012: 245), this does not mean that white bodies are not subject to racialization processes. Studies on contemporary dance that have tackled race relations head on (Desmond 1993; Cooper 1997; Bourdié 2013; Despres 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016) have focused primarily on the construction of otherness through migratory circuits, as in the case of African dancers. However, they do not consider whiteness as a hegemonic racial norm. This article thus proposes to question how this norm of whiteness works in the contemporary dance field with a focus on the perception of otherness, and in particular of minoritized dancers3 perceived as Black or Asian. To do this, we consider the ways in which dancers become marked by racial difference in auditions and during the creative process. We also examine how this difference is put in perspective with the norm of whiteness in choreographic practices. This norm structures hiring and creative practices, through a discourse on the "harmony of bodies", but also in technical ways. However, the actors marked by racial difference may also appropriate and subvert the norm in artistic projects.
4Drawing on a qualitative sociological survey on dancers and choreographers active in the transnational field (Sapiro 2013; Sapiro & al. 2018) of European contemporary dance, this article begins by discussing whiteness as a highly invisibilized yet hegemonic racial norm in that field. Conversely, dancers perceived as Black or Asian are referred to an otherness –which is systematically made visible– that reassigns other bodies to an essentialized difference. In what follows we will see how the actors marked by this difference appropriate it and revalue it through hiring and creative practices. The article will show how these dancers and choreographers subvert these assignations through choreographic and aesthetic registers built around a discourse on the hybridity and creolization of origins, bodies, and styles. Ultimately it will yield an understanding of why, in the artistic field, bodies do not all tell the same story on stage, depending on their inscription in race relations.
4 Among the interviewees, some defined themselves as dancers (16), others as choreographers (4), or b (...)
5This research draws on a qualitative fieldwork to analyse the social and racial construction of bodies in the contemporary dance field. Thirty semi-directive interviews, ranging from two to four hours, were conducted with dancers and/or choreographers4 who gravitate in the transnational European contemporary dance space, whose main hubs are, according to these actors, Paris, Brussels, London, Berlin, and Stockholm. This transnational space is far from homogeneous in terms of cultural policies for the promotion of contemporary dance. France, Belgium and Germany have actively pursued such policies. Since the 1980s, France has become a "land of immigration for many foreign dancers and choreographers, who can benefit from a labour market that is fuelled by numerous subsidized companies and from the specific insurance scheme that applies to artists, which is unparalleled in Europe" (Sorignet 2004b: 67).
5 For more on class relations in the world of contemporary dance, see in particular Pierre-Emmanuel S (...)
6To investigate the transnational circulation dynamics within this space, dancers were interviewed at various stages in their careers (Becker 1985, 1988), from the beginning to the end and when in the course of making career changes. Interviewees were aged between 20 and 50. They had a variety of nationalities and origins (Swiss, French, Belgian, German, Japanese, Burkinabe, South African, Cuban, Algerian, Italian, Israeli, Spanish) but were based in Europe, and defined themselves from an ethnic-racial point of view as "black", "white", "Arabic", or "Asian". While the vast majority of interviewees was endowed with large amounts of cultural capital and came from the upper middle class, some interviewees had a working-class background and their trajectories have been characterized by intense social mobility, including in terms of acquisition of cultural capital5.
6 A very large majority of interviewees were recognized as prestigious in that they enjoyed high leve (...)
7 This concerns in particular female dancers around thirty seeking to settle to start a family and da (...)
7As a rule, most interviewees were on the move in this space for a variety of professional reasons (residencies, tours, workshops, auditions, companies) and private ones (family life, social life, visa, etc.). They were actors who introduced themselves as "dancer", "dancer and choreographer" or "former dancer and now choreographer", and whose main professional activity was dance. They enjoyed varying degrees of recognition and legitimacy in the field, from prestigious dancers (and choreographers) who were well-established in the field and performing in national choreography centres (CCNs) or renowned companies to dancers and/or choreographers with local ties, known primarily regionally6. It should be noted that while most had artistic careers in which mobility was a structuring factor, some of the interviewees were actively seeking to establish local roots to distance themselves from the norm of mobility that prevails in the world of dance7.
8 These include a male Swiss friend, who identifies as "white" racially, and has been a dancer for a (...)
8Interviewees were selected based on the international dimension of their careers, their anchoring and legitimacy in the field, and their racial self-definitions. Contacts were facilitated by precious friendships with professional dancers in Switzerland and France, which pre-existed the study8. Following the snowball sampling method, through these friends, I was able to meet and interview a variety of dancers and choreographers. Others were approached via email or during chance encounters in order to consider a wider variety of networks of actors in the field. In addition to the interviews, the research also draws on the techniques of observation: ethnographic research was conducted in a national choreography centre (CCN) in France and in a prominent company based in Switzerland. My ongoing presence in the venues of socialization of the dance field and its activities in Switzerland for an entire year (at shows, at the "Fête de la danse" festival, in cafés, etc.) allowed me to refine the analysis and to develop other forms of sociability with dancers and choreographers.
9Lastly, as a researcher, it is important to situate oneself socially in order to understand how a range of power relations have structured fieldwork practices, in terms of access to the field, interactions between interviewer and interviewees, exit from the field, and circulation (Clair 2016). More broadly, the privileges (McIntosh 1988; hooks 1992) related to my posture as a scholar in terms of gender (as a cisgender man), my whiteness, my age (as a thirty-something), my (Swiss) nationality, my cultural capital, and my academic status (as an untenured PhD in social science) facilitated the study. This materialized in easier access to the fieldwork sites, the sharing of social codes and a sense of kinship with the interviewees that grew as the study progressed, ultimately creating a predominant sense of a close-knit community and reflecting a degree of homogamy.
9 While Sylvia Faure emphasizes the importance of these imaginaries for young dancers, this article p (...)
10 This article focuses on the effects of these imaginaries of difference, rather than on their origin (...)
10In the current context of globalization, imaginaries structure the ways in which we conceive ourselves and act, which leads anthropologist Arjun Appadurai to consider "imagination as a social practice" (Appadurai 1996: 31) and by extension "the work of the imagination as a constitutive feature of modern subjectivity" (Appadurai 1996: 3). In the art world, dance, like many other artistic practices, creates a tension between the real and the imaginary. Imaginaries are manifold and in flux (Léonardi 2000) and contribute to the making of otherness. They have performative effects and insinuate themselves into the slightest motions, in the processes of learning, teaching, auditioning, creating, staging and performing. The body is one of the channels of these imaginaries. Indeed, "the body is the site where thought can, precisely, be embodied" (Commeignes 2000: 40). In this respect, one of the specificities of dance is that it "shapes the connection between the imaginary and the body", in which "collective and personal social representations and creations enter in a dialogue" (Marquié 2016: 100). Sylvia Faure, for her part, argues that "the dreamt, fantasized body, [the] body that one desires to be or to have, [the] body one thinks they are…, the actual or imaginary corporeality of the young dancer is constantly confronted with its objectivation" (Faure 2000: 78)9. Cécile Léonardi goes further in positing that "the body no longer exists other than imagined" in the sense that 'body-matter' can be defined as a 'place' where individual and collective imaginaries pass and inscribe themselves" (2000: 59). The body can accordingly be approached as a "reservoir and a vehicle of social practices and representations" that also "serves as a medium for the expression of ideologies and their legitimization, and therefore their existence over the long term" (Marquié 2016: 90). While gender reveals the import of these imaginaries in the contemporary dance field, to the extent that is often problematized by the actors in their creations, race issues tend to be considered and highlighted to a lesser degree in choreography. In the few cases where these questions are problematized, it is often in connection with the themes of exile, migration, of the faraway, and sometimes of colonization. Race is related to otherness, which has the additional effect of leaving whiteness unexamined. This invisibilization of whiteness reproduces a system of domination in which otherness is visible and the dominant norm is invisible, as Richard Dyer explains: "Looking with such passion and single-mindedness at non-dominant groups has had the effect of reproducing the sense of the oddness, differentness, exceptionality of these groups, the feeling that they are departures from the norm. Meanwhile the norm has carried on as if it is the natural, inevitable, ordinary way of being human" (1988: 44). Studying imaginaries allows us to evidence how these racializing representations work and to analyse this tension between visibility and invisibility. An empirical investigation of the imaginary of whiteness and otherness in the contemporary dance field will accordingly shed light on how race relations shape the making of white and non-white bodies10. More largely, it is a means to consider how the relationship of minoritized groups to a majority social group reveals the implicit norm.
11 Although the concept of identity is becoming increasingly difficult to handle in the social science (...)
12 This is a socially situated invisibility insofar as it is particularly at work from the point of vi (...)
11Whiteness is a normative principle of social organization based on race that conditions bodies as social signifiers (Puwar 2004; Ahmed 2007). The concept of whiteness more precisely refers to "the social, cultural and political white hegemony faced by ethno-racial minorities, as well as a mode of problematization of race relations" (Cervulle 2012: 39). As such, it is "a social construct with dynamic modalities through which, in some socio-historical contexts, some individuals or groups can be assigned (following an allo-identification process) or can subscribe (following a self-identification process) to a socially rewarding 'white identity'" (Cervulle 2012: 49). As a hegemonic racial norm, whiteness entails an imaginary in which identities11 are constructed. The concept also reflects a number of social dynamics at work around questions of (in)visibility. Since the 1990s, critical whiteness studies have highlighted the "unseen dimensions"12 of the white subject (McIntosh 1988; Ahmed 2004; Sullivan 2006). In the words of Ruth Frankenberg: "Naming 'whiteness' displaces it from the unmarked, unnamed status that is itself an effect of its dominance. Among the effects on White people both of race privilege and of the dominance of Whiteness are their seeming normativity, their structured invisibility" (Frankenberg 1993: 6). In a similar way to what critical masculinity studies have done, this field of research has made whiteness visible in race relations to overcome effects of power that tend to make it "neutral" and "normal". In other words, race marks all bodies, but not in the same ways. As Ruth Frankenberg points out: "White people are 'raced' just as men are 'gendered'. And in a social context where white people have too often viewed themselves as nonracial or racially neutral, it is crucial to look at the 'racialness' of white experience" (Frankenberg 1993: 1). Critical whiteness studies thus allow us to deconstruct the dominant norm and its associated privileges. As we will see, this tension surrounding the issue of visibility is very much at work in the contemporary dance field, especially when it comes to conceiving the aesthetics of bodies on stage. Through this tension, imaginaries contribute to the unequal marking of racialized bodies.
12Just as modern dance in the late nineteenth century overturned the norms of classical dance by breaking up lines and highlighting "unbalanced", "slack" bodies and "challenging verticality" (Sorignet 2012: 13), contemporary dance does not intend to fit "into a lineage to conquer sufficient legitimacy to face up to academic ballet, but rather to contribute to a collective effort to define a creative space" (Sorignet 2012: 13). Contemporary dance is fundamentally characterized by the ideas of rupture and subversion of artistic and aesthetic norms. Its subversion of the codes of dance and of social norms has constituted a form of "liberation" of the performing body (and of the female body) (Sorignet 2004c). While the historical bodily norms of classical dance continue to be subverted on stage, particularly in terms of gender, the representation of diversity – especially regarding racial marking – is arguably problematic. Although the European contemporary dance field has gradually tended towards the inclusion some form of racial diversity on stage, it remains largely dominated by white dancers and structured by the norm of whiteness. The prevalence of this norm is directly reflected on the representations of bodies, and it has the performative effect of categorizing, classifying and distinguishing white and non-white bodies. The performativity of this hegemonic norm can already be observed early in the dancers' careers, as they learn their craft in ways that are structured by forms of identification and imitation. For racialized young dancers, this identification work directly relates to questions of legitimacy and to the opportunity of recognizing themselves and of projecting themselves into this job. In this sense, whiteness structures early aspirations to become a dancer. Haruki – a thirty-something Japanese dancer and choreographer who defines herself as Asian, was trained in Japan and England and danced in many prestigious European companies before she set up her own company – illustrates this performative dimension of whiteness as well as the way in which this norm legitimizes bodies that have access to stages while delegitimizing others:
"I wanted to be a dancer because I'd see prima ballerinas who were invited to the opera in Japan. Sylvie Guilhem was my idol. I wanted to be like her, to move like her, but when I saw her, I was like 'why don't I have that body? Why am I not like her at all?' […]. This classical body is a very European thing. It means very slender, long legs. A very long neck, open hips, too. The arms too. And the very small head. There were lots of reasons why I didn't recognize myself at all in what I was seeing. […] And so I felt that compared to the European model, everything we'd do wasn't good enough […]. At first, I internalized this view that Japan was inferior too much". (June 2018 interview).
13The white body, as the aesthetic and artistic norm, produces forms of inhibition, and contributes to the construction of a symbolic frontier between legitimate and illegitimate bodies on stage. The very capacity of picturing oneself on a stage – and beyond, pursuing a career – is at stake in these representations of whiteness. More than a frontier, this norm of whiteness is like a barrier between two words – an inclusive and an exclusive ones – for some racialized interviewees. Ibrahim, a prestigious forty-something French choreographer, the former director of a French national choreography centre who defines himself as a "racialized Frenchman", was quick to notice the import of this norm in the world of French theatre and dance:
13 This refers to the arts of theatre and choreography.
"We made the observation that French theatre13 is very white. When you go to the theatre and then you walk out into the street when it's over, you feel as if you've crossed into a different country, you've crossed a border, and we thought, better turn things around than suffer from this! That was the plan when we founded this company". (April 2017 interview).
14The metaphor of national borders is summoned here to describe an isolated, diversity-proof art world, from which he has often felt excluded. Ibrahim goes on to relate how the people he frequents in the dance world justify these borders, and explains why he believes they are so difficult to cross:
"When we meet directors, we ask them: 'Aren't you sick of being among whites?', and they go: 'I'm not racist, I just like to work with my classmates'. 'But you do see they're all the same, right, doesn't that bother you?'. It's not active discrimination, it's just that we're subjected to systems, we're subjected to habits, we're subjected to kind of muted ways of working, and as a result there are some people we can't include in our collective imagination. […] I hope that in the years to come, we'll have gotten to a far more creolized collective imagination". (April 2017 interview).
15The lack of diversity of this world is understood as the result of its exclusive whiteness but also and most importantly of an inability to conceive "creolized" creations. As he points out this diversity issue, Ibrahim emphasizes the influence of imaginaries on the ability to include so-called different bodies on stage. These imaginaries reinforce the supposed legitimacy of white bodies, and conversely the illegitimacy of those marked by racial difference. This aesthetic of the body is also discussed by the actors in terms of "harmony", a discourse that is often central to the creative process.
16Auditions (in group or individual form) are occasions when imaginaries manifest themselves in sharp relief. Bodies are evaluated on their ability to perform, to embody norms and to belong a group. During an audition, the dancer's body is under considerable pressure, having to meet normative expectations of a physical, social, aesthetic and artistic nature. It becomes a reflection of the choreographers' expectations and projections. Indeed, it has to intrigue and stimulate their curiosity by moulding itself into an imaginary. The evaluation and selection processes require the individual (and his or her body) to evoke and connect with the choreographer's imaginary, as Pierre-Emmanuel Sorignet explained in his study on contemporary dance: "the evaluation is not only technical; it pertains to the ability of a given individual on the move, a given body to trigger the specific imaginary of the choreographer, who is trying to find individuals who will be able to illustrate what is still a project and to help define the choreographer's ostensibly 'distinctive' style" (Sorignet 2012: 86). From the choreographers' perspective, the question of the signification of bodies marked by racial (or gender) difference is no trivial matter. Indeed, bodies are not neutral on stage; the perception of movement creates a new imaginary (Marquié 2016: 100). They suggest a range of significations and social representations that will be resignified in the piece. In this respect, bodies marked by racial difference (as well as gender, if not class difference) convey othering social scripts. They can arouse curiosity or disinterest, but rarely leave spectators indifferent. These bodies often challenge the actors of the dance field (audiences, critics, choreographers, etc.) when they are present, and more rarely do so through their absence. Below, Pauline, a fifty years old Swiss choreographer, who has managed a company since the 1990s and defines herself as "white", expresses her discomfort in the face of the ambivalence of the signification of so-called different bodies:
"I asked myself this for this piece, actually, since we're working on the question of the uniform. I told myself: "Oh, we're working with Europeans only". I've never worked with African-Americans, Indians or Asians. And so considering I had to find a man, we had a beautiful talk with the team. I told them: "It's a problem for me to get someone because they're black or because they have another cultural background." […] Then, I was told: "Well make a casting call, and mention that you're looking for a coloured young dancer". I thought to myself, I can't do this. Then, they told me: "You are looking for a boy, right?" "Yeah, but just so Laurent isn't the only man". But if we were to have an Asian or an African-American boy, then he would be the only one. What would that tell us, you know. That'd be politically correct, ticking off a box. […] We ended up taking a [white] European boy". (May 2018 interview).
14 In Pauline's words, representations of the black body are associated with a specific territory – th (...)
17As is also the case with gender and masculinity, the non-white body carries a range of different significations that are activated in a dichotomic relationship with whiteness. Whiteness endows this so-called different body with a form of visibility and with otherness14, which take on meaning, whereas the white body remains invisible and "neutral" because it is the norm.
18This ambivalence regarding the signification of non-white bodies transpires particularly acutely in the case of black bodies, as Paul, a Switzerland-based dancer and choreographer who defines himself as white, notes in a discussion on the recruitment of dancers:
"If I had an African performer in my piece, he would have represented the slave or something like that. I didn't want that. I think it's problematic when you have five dancers, and only one is black, because it immediately points to a minority. Then it changes the way in which you see and understand the piece". (February 2019 interview).
19His words attest to the particular visibility of the black body, which conjures an imaginary on slavery and colonization that muddles the choreographer's gaze and his idea of harmony. Overall, the choreographers' representation of harmony exists in a tension with the idea that dancers have a skin colour. Paul's experience also reflects his internalization of an established racial order that directly impacts creative practices. He sums up this ambivalence surrounding the reading of so-called different bodies:
"When you depict difference in a piece, for instance if you use someone who is very visibly queer, or something like that, it conveys another message to spectators, and as a result it doesn't necessarily tell what you wanted to say. It changes the way you read the piece. You know, in general, people will project loads of things on a piece". (February 2019 interview).
20Thus, racial or gender differences constitute interpretation scripts that are determinant as far as the reading of bodies and the activation of imaginaries are concerned, unlike other differences such as eye colour, which do not have the same importance.
21For some choreographers, awareness of the visibility of difference in contrast with the supposed harmony of the other bodies also involves a discourse on body morphology. The reading of bodies and their forms is modelled by an essentializing imaginary, especially when it comes to black bodies. Indeed, some choreographers explain that it is difficult for them to combine the representation of their physicality with that of white bodies in their work – as in the case of Nathan, a young choreographer who defines himself as "white" and "Mediterranean" racially:
"The black bodies I know, it's crazy how differently they work. They're better, strong, more resistant. They jump better, they spin better. They have all these natural abilities. They're just born with it. But the thing is it creates a different quality, a different layer. I mean in a casting call, they can seem more different, not only because they're black, but because the way they move is so different, surprising and far better. So that creates a difference from the group, and then you lose the group". (April 2018 interview).
22Using an othering discourse on purportedly "more muscular", "stronger", "athletic" black bodies (compared to so-called white bodies), this choreographer points to the risk of losing a group's aesthetic homogeneity induced by his perception of skin colour – a difference that appears to him to carry the threat of producing new significations on stage. This discourse on group homogeneity historically relates to the ballet body in classical dance, meant to be harmonious in its uniformity and conformity with aesthetic and bodily standards. As we have seen, this imaginary of bodily harmony that centres on whiteness continues to have performative effects in the contemporary dance field. Although the subversion of codes is part and parcel of this field, effectively some differences, including racial ones, are sometimes not considered to have the same creative potential as those relating for instance to movements, choreographic norms or costumes.
23While the visibility of non-white bodies reveals a tension surrounding the problem of harmony for some choreographers, it can also become problematic in relation to their stage and technical design. Indeed, it is paradoxically the non-visibility of non-white bodies – especially black bodies – that can raise issues in terms of lighting standards. As lighting is often designed by white people and for white people, different lighting requirements can be an additional constraint for choreographers, used as a justification for preserving the "harmony" of bodies:
"Another import… interesting thing is, different skins are not lit in the same way. If you have five white performers and a black one, the black performers can't be visible, because if you increase visibility too much, the white skins are going to get burnt. That is something I've often seen. You have a black performer who disappears, because he doesn't capture light in the same way […]. It's not mentioned often, I think, but it is an important factor. Last week I saw [a piece]. In the piece everything is black, there was a black performer, and the piece is rather dimly lit. You couldn't see her body, you could only see an outline, whereas you could clearly make out the others. So you really do see another type of body". (February 2019 interview).
24The non-visibility of black bodies is a preoccupation for some choreographers in that it threatens the harmony of bodies on stage. This reflects the role of whiteness as a hegemonic norm, conveyed by an imaginary, in the making and normalization of bodies on stage, and which is part of a broader script of difference that has effects on hiring, the creative process and the technical aspects of dance.
A creation on the theme of identity fluidity by a resident contemporary dance company (26 April 2019)
© Vania C., CC-BY-NC
25What does dancing and choreographing mean for a minoritized social group in an artistic field structured by race relations? Karim Hammou and Kaoutar Harchi have argued that "minority art" produces forms of subversion because racialized groups, although "relegated to subordinate positions, the farthest removed from economic, political and generally also cultural power […] have however always witnessed the emergence of a minority of creators who are liable to destabilize or cross the symbolic and material borders of the majority order" (Hammou & Harchi 2020: 303). In the context of dance, these symbolic and material borders are negotiated through the subversion and revaluation of imaginaries and bodies. Indeed, while social imaginaries contribute to structuring and normalizing the interpretation of bodies through their performative effects, bodies can also be subject to reappropriations and resignifications designed to subvert norms and assigned identities. In this sense, dance can become a space of creation and subversion of identities through the social uses of bodies. The constraints that weigh on bodies can be hijacked and recast in an artistic (and in some cases political) fashion, as Hélène Marquié notes here: "Each dance brings into play experiences and representations of bodies, the singular and intimate awareness of the presence of self, of relationships to others and to the world that surrounds us, amid social constraints, aesthetic constraints, but also freedom from these constraints" (Marquié 2016: 89). A renewal of the interpretation of bodies and imaginaries is thus at work in choreographic creation. This investigation of the imaginaries of difference can for instance be glimpsed in the choreographic project of Ibrahim, who founded his company in the 1990s to build a space for the recognition and resignification of differences:
"It kind of was the guiding line running through lots of other projects. I started getting interested in the figure of the migrant, of the foreigner. I do think that we have so many things to learn from people whose difference is a little bit more visible. When you're the only black person among white people, or the only disabled person in a group of able-bodied people. This stuff forces us to rethink ourselves. One thing led to another, and I did several projects that dealt with this". (April 2017 interview).
26Ibrahim's project reflects a choreographic work that is based on the idea of what he calls "diversity" (of bodies, origins, "cultures", etc.) to rethink identity from the perspective of difference. It entails placing difference at the centre to deconstruct the hegemonic norm of whiteness. The imaginaries of difference are subverted, revaluated and highlighted in the choreographic project to deconstruct expectations and stereotypes. This is echoed by Haruki's work on established social, racial and cultural representations of Japan, and more broadly Asia:
"People often tell me, "it's hard for us to identify, because you're Japanese". So they struggle to define me because I don't make sushi and I don't read manga. In my creations I try to overcome these outside stereotypes, in the sense that I'm questioning what a mixed, multiple identity is today". (June 2018 interview).
27In one of his creations, for instance, Haruki proposed a choreographic work revolving around a highly robotic voice and the world of robotics to question, among other things, the concept of identity. More broadly, her choreographic work is based on the idea of overcoming the fixity of difference to rethink plural identities, while creating imaginaries that include, in her own words, more "diversity" and more "creolization", leaving more room for the mix of artforms, influences, bodies and cultures, as evoked previously by Ibrahim. This deconstruction often allows to rethink the very idea of the harmony of bodies in order to embrace difference in a plural and subversive way. By revisiting the ideal of the ballet body, based on homogeneity and similarity, one of Ibrahim's projects pushes the idea of bodily difference to the extreme to reconsider social representations of harmony. The piece plays with this tension between "harmony in uniformity" and "diversity", by relying on so-called different bodies to create a subversive choreography:
"About that piece, choreographers from prominent companies told me: "don't you think they're all too much together, doing the same thing too much. They should dance things that are a little bit more different". But that was precisely what I was getting at. When you bring together a community of diverse people and when they're doing the same thing, what you perceive is their difference, not the ability to turn it into something uniform. And the thing is, in some dance circles, and in some dance imaginaries in particular, which revolve around the image of the ballet body, which is quite regulated, perfectly aligned, that's kind of a problem. […] In my view it's a problem with imaginaries, some people can't identify with today's world. It's as if they were trying to remove themselves from today's world and populations. That, I think, is pretty serious. It's as if we were blinded as to who we are". (April 2017 interview).
28While the hybridity of identities can be approached through bodies marked by racial difference, in my fieldwork I also observed how this difference is subverted through the criss-crossing of different artistic influences. Adama, a famous Burkinabe choreographer and dancer who lives in Europe and defines himself as "Black" and "African", expounds on this here:
"There are two different styles on stage. There's me, with Afro-contemporary traditional dance, and the other person, with contemporary dance. I often hire contemporary dancers who have worked here [in Europe]. I put them on stage, and I bring them to use some of Afro-contemporary traditional dance because they're such different styles. And that will give you other qualities […]. And that's how people will understand the mix between the two. That's where it becomes great. The interplay between the two gives it quality!" (May 2018 interview).
29Haruki also embraces a similar discourse on the "creolization" and "mixing" of styles, citing the influence of Butô in her contemporary dance pieces:
"I also like the Japanese metaphor of emptiness, which is used a lot in Japan, particularly in Butô. The goal of Butô dance was to understand how to dance and walk when you're dead […]. Lately I've started, or rather resumed, working with Japanese people, and it's been good for me. I've been learning a lot, especially regarding myself and how I experienced all these years spent without communicating with Japanese people. It allows me to reconnect." (June 2018 interview).
30The blending of artistic influences thus functions as a crucial means to revisit difference and to produce hybrid forms of identity for some choreographers who are marked by racial difference. In the cases of Adama and Haruki, this involves a phenomenon of transnational or translocal circulation of artistic practices, through which identities are renegotiated and traditions are reinvented (Aterianus-Owanga, Djebbari, Salzbrunn 2019; Martiniello, Puig, Suzanne 2009). It also allows choreographers to work on the idea of creolization, by creating new space in which so-called different bodies are recognized and resignified. In that sense, the mixing of styles is conducive to recognizing and highlighting other bodies (more muscular, more supple, more dynamic, smaller, queerer, marked by racial difference to a greater extent, etc.) while essentializing them for strategic purposes (Spivak 1985). This is a political use of difference, intended to give new significations to some social markers, as part of a broader politics of representation (Hall 2007).
31The staging of these "new" bodies also depends on the legitimacy of new styles on stage. Ibrahim drew inspiration from hip-hop dance to work with bodies that are traditionally underrepresented in contemporary dance. In this sense, the mixing of styles is a means to introduce new bodily aesthetics on stage:
"I think that in contemporary dance, there are movements that relate to specific social classes and circles, for instance hip-hop twenty years ago. Certain demographics were associated with certain bodies and certain styles, although that changes very quickly. In my piece [...], I brought together people who are quite different [...] and a boy with a background in hip-hop. There were very different people in terms of how they moved and of their ethnicity. The writing was based on that concept, often very blurred and with lots of rough edges." (April 2017 interview)
32Through the mixing of styles (Afro-contemporary, Butô, hip-hop, etc.), other bodies are made visible on the contemporary dance scene, meaning that other differences are represented and politicized, such as Asianness and Blackness (Hall 1993; Adusei-Poku 2013). Blackness, like Asianness, is a repertoire of representations designed to (re)create and politicize racial and cultural identities, as Nana Adusei-Poku puts it: "Blackness was and is still en vogue in the beginning of the twenty-first century, not only in popular culture but also in the arts, which synchronically reproduces classical stereotypes about the Black body and challenges Black artists and scholars not to fall into already established counter-discourses but rather expand the repertoire of representations" (Adusei-Poku 2013: 108). Thus art becomes a political space of struggle over recognition, in which identities are (re)negotiated. "Minority art" in that sense partakes in a form of subversion through "cultural representations that are liable to challenge expectations of exoticism and instrumental appropriations by the hegemonic centre […] to the extent of transcending assignation to a primitivist exoticism, and hybridizing ethno-racial borders to create spaces of aesthetic wiggle room" (Hammou & Harchi 2020: 302, 303). The struggle over recognition and the politics of representation are however fraught with ambivalence and tension. As described by Claire Ducournau in the case of the African literary output in France and of the assignation of writers to their origins through terms such as "immigrant from Sub-Saharan Africa", "Frenchman/Frenchwoman from Sub-Saharan Africa" or "dark-skinned Frenchman/Frenchwoman", the individuals in question "play ambivalent games of identification or subversion – where some subscribe, sometimes at the cost of showing restraint in confidential spaces, to such ways of representing them, others resist through lucidity and humour, to the extent sometimes of refusing to collaborate" (Ducournau 2019: 150). In my fieldwork, these ambivalences were highlighted in the limitations of the subversive and political potential of this mixing. In some cases, indeed, these bodies marked by racial difference can only access stages and gain recognition when introduced from the angle of diversity and mixing. Lena, a thirty-something dancer and choreographer, who defines herself as "Swiss and Afropean" and is based in Switzerland after having worked in various companies in England, notes:
"Mostly there are white choreographers that talk about 'diversity' without genuinely representing us, but as soon as we [racialized individuals] want to do it, we're being told it's too political […]. We're just allowed to perform for them without getting a word in". (April 2018 interview).
33In the 2000s, a trend in choreography indeed consisted in "celebrating diversity" in a depoliticized manner, with far less subversive potential. As Pierre-Emmanuel Sorignet observed, "the development of a discourse around 'mixing' [in France], both in terms of bodily techniques and of the social and geographic origins of dancers, coincided with an effort by public authorities to have the performing arts be part of an examination of social themes" (Sorignet 2012: 86-87). Some choreographers proposed pieces in which bodies marked by racial difference (as well as gender, class, and disability-related differences, etc.) find themselves assigned to an aesthetics of difference. In informal chats, some choreographers reported that they were witnessing the rise and institutionalization of a new aesthetic line in the contemporary dance field, concerned with the representation of otherness and difference (racial, cultural, social, but also gender- and disability-related, etc.) in depoliticized, instrumental and exotic fashion. These artistic practices also give us keys to understand that struggles and competitions in the field do not merely relate to cultural and economic capitals; the racial question is also relevant. The staging of "diversity" is becoming a new register of social distinction in the field, and one that can also contribute to a process of artistic exploitation of a social and political critique. Multiculturalism – as a normative language (Hall 2007) – can thus have the effect of channelling depoliticized otherized identities in art (Martiniello 2014). Strategies aimed at mixing styles and diversifying bodies may lead to subverting some of the hegemonic codes and imaginaries of dance, including those surrounding whiteness, but also involve a risk of reifying new representations of otherness, and of indulging in depoliticized artistic repurposing. The opening up to "diversity" and the aesthetic and artistic recognition of difference thus tends to shift the boundaries of otherness on stage. Yet at the same time, it is also liable to normalize said otherness by placing it within the bounds of an increasingly expected and trendy aesthetic and choreographic register.
34This article has considered the social and racial construction of bodies in the transnational contemporary dance field in order to understand how bodies are unequally marked by aesthetic standards. It has first pointed out that bodies are given different significations in the field depending on how and where they fit in racial relations, because whiteness acts as a hegemonic norm. More precisely, it has shown how white bodies are often considered by actors in the field as neutral, normal and invisible. Conversely, bodies marked by racial difference exhibit a "problematic visibility", detrimental to the "harmony of bodies". The article also highlights some of the current limitations of subversion in the artistic field, which was built around the very idea of transgression. Although subverting standards is a practice that is inherent in the field, most of the racial norms surrounding whiteness continue to shape creation and are evidently difficult to transgress. Justifications of a bodily, technical and aesthetic nature contribute to fixing a certain idea of the "harmony" of bodies on stage. From the dancers' point of view, the mark of difference still affects their access to the stage. This research has shown that bodies marked by racial difference struggle to free themselves from (colonial, post-colonial, gender-based) imaginaries that are hard to shake off. The circulation of individuals and choreographic styles in the contemporary dance field is embedded in power relations in which bodies are perceived through imaginaries of racial difference.
35However, this research has also shed light on how some choreographers and dancers who are themselves marked by racial difference subvert these assigned identities through reflective uses of the diversity and bodies and/or the transformation of choreographic styles. As it puts bodies to the test, the contemporary dance stage can become a space for negotiating otherized identities (and their signifiers). For choreographers, this process is rooted in an artistic and political approach, but it involves a risk of appropriation and depoliticization, robbing diversity of its potential for subversion as a new standardized aesthetics of movement emerges. Ultimately, this article calls for broader consideration of the political underpinnings of diversity (Vertovec 2012) and multiculturalism, concepts that should be approached as "floating signifiers" (Hall 2007) in a constant state of tension and negotiation.
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2 This is a reference to writings by Noémi Michel, who uses the phrase "bodies marked by racial difference" (2014) to point out that all bodies are racialized, but that the weight of race (as a social construct) is unequally distributed among individuals and social groups. More broadly, it bears reminding that the meaning of difference "has no origin or final destination, cannot be finally fixed, is always in process, in translation, being defined positionally along a spectrum. Its political value cannot be essentialized (...) it can only be defined in relation to all the other forces..." (Hall 2021: 418).
3 According to Colette Guillaumin, the idea of minoritized social groups directly relates to the concept of difference, and chiefly reflects a political situation in which said groups have less power in a social system, especially in terms of influence and freedom, but are not necessarily less numerous (1985: 102). This assignation to a minoritized social group is also relational and part of an asymmetrical relationship. This minority status involves material parameters in that it reflects an economic, legal, ecological status, but it also has symbolic implications in that it is justified ideologically and inscribed within a social system (Guillaumin 1972).
4 Among the interviewees, some defined themselves as dancers (16), others as choreographers (4), or both (10). All names and institutions were anonymized.
5 For more on class relations in the world of contemporary dance, see in particular Pierre-Emmanuel Sorignet (2012).
6 A very large majority of interviewees were recognized as prestigious in that they enjoyed high levels of symbolic capital in the field.
7 This concerns in particular female dancers around thirty seeking to settle to start a family and dancers claiming to defend "another way of living off dancing".
8 These include a male Swiss friend, who identifies as "white" racially, and has been a dancer for a dozen years in a CCN in France, and a female Swiss friend who identifies as of "African descent", danced in England and Belgium for around ten years and is now working in the healthcare sector.
9 While Sylvia Faure emphasizes the importance of these imaginaries for young dancers, this article posits, as others have done, that they have an impact at all career stages.
10 This article focuses on the effects of these imaginaries of difference, rather than on their origin and construction, which closely relate to colonial and postcolonial history (see Appadurai 2001).
11 Although the concept of identity is becoming increasingly difficult to handle in the social sciences, it is used in this article as a normative ideal based on which individuals define themselves, rather than as a descriptive feature of experience (Butler 2005; Hall 2007).
12 This is a socially situated invisibility insofar as it is particularly at work from the point of view of the white subject. As studies by black feminists in the US have shown (e.g., hooks 1992), whiteness as a dominant norm has long been visible for minoritized individuals.
14 In Pauline's words, representations of the black body are associated with a specific territory – the United States – invisibilizing other areas of the world such as Europe and Africa. This territorialization of black and white bodies excludes hybrid identities.
Julien Debonneville, « "In the name of harmony". The imaginary of whiteness in the field of contemporary dance », Biens Symboliques / Symbolic Goods [En ligne], 9 | 2021, mis en ligne le 27 décembre 2021, consulté le 19 janvier 2022. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/bssg/750 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/bssg.750
Unviversité de Genève/Institut des études genre
Jean-Yves Bart


Fantastic opportunity to build on this 1 acre +/- corner commercial outparcel w/traffic light in The Landing at Ocean Isle Beach! The possibilities are limitless! Located on mainland side of bridge to Ocean Isle Beach. This busy shopping center is anchored by Lowes Foods & is accessible from either Hwy 179/Beach Dr &/or Ocean Isle Beach Rd/Hwy 904 (main thoroughfare for Island visitors & local residents traveling from US Hwy 17).


Manufacturing activities were established in Warsaw 20 years ago. In that time, we have focused on providing high quality pharmaceutical products to patients in Poland and beyond.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The last in our Tour Across America series gives us songs that are about or mention American cities, states… and one zip code.
Did you know? Zip codes in America were first used in larger cities in the 1940s. By 1967, zip codes were placed on all mail within the US. In the early 198os we began "Zip +4" – the little four digit code that helps keep mail delivery… zippy!
Watch the 1960s promo video for zip codes here and the Zip Code song here!
MISSING PERSONS – WALKING IN L.A.
Every musician is influenced by someone, some style. Tonight's offering brings you modern musicians who grab a bit of love from other eras.
The wife takes over the music selection tonight. Glorious!


This Saturday, October 1st, a celebration of local live music 'WOOD STOCKTON' at Stockton Bowling Club. Eight hours of live music on the green, featuring a sensational line up of local bands and artists including singer songwriter Ben Murphy, Dance/Pop rockers Witchery , Catching Alice, Newcastle's Rockabilly rebels Bad Luck Kitty,….
…. Misbehave and Defaced with the best of British Rock!
Kicks off at 12 noon Saturday, October 1st at Stockton Bowling Club – 122 Mitchell St, Stockton NSW. Bring a blanket and enjoy an afternoon of live music and Spring sunshine on the green.


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Home > Lifestyle > Arts
BREAKOUT STAR: Actor-singer Hideaki Takizawa (above) from the J-pop idol duo Tackey and Tsubasa is now a breakout stage star with his own theatrical show called Takizawa Kabuki.
PHOTO: MARINA BAY SANDS
The show has become a mainstay every Cherry Blossom season in Japan for the last decade. It sells out every year without fail since the inaugural one was staged in 2006.
J-pop star is a kabuki knockout
Singer-actor Hideaki Takizawa has been wowing fans on stage back home for a decade with his modern take on an ancient form of Japanese theatre. He's now ready to export it to Singapore.
Dylan Tandylantan@sph.com.sg@DylanTanSYBT
EAT your hearts out, Simon Cowell and Lou Pearlman - way before the pair hit the musical boyband jackpot on both sides of the Atlantic with One Direction and Backstreet Boys respectively; a Japanese impresario has been sending female music fans into a tizzy in the Land of the Rising Sun since way back in the 1970s.
Four decades in, Johnny Kitagawa, is still shaping the J-Pop scene with stadium-filling pretty-boy acts such as Kinki Kids, Hey! Say! JUMP!, Arashi and most notably, SMAP.
That feat hasn't gone unrecognised as the media-shy 83-year-old, who doesn't do interviews and is seldom photographed, holds three Guinness World Records titles for producing the most number of top acts (35), the most number one singles (232) and the most number of concerts (8419) by an individual.
One of Kitagawa's proteges, actor-singer Hideaki Takizawa from the J-pop idol duo Tackey and Tsubasa has gone on to become a breakout stage star and now has his own theatrical show named after him.
Originally conceived and directed by Kitagawa, Takizawa Kabuki has become a mainstay every Cherry Blossom season for the last decade. It sells out every year without fail since the inaugural one was staged in 2006 and tickets get snapped up in a flash as well - all 72,800 tickets for this year's run of 52 performances were gone in a fortnight.
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The production is a star vehicle for Takizawa, who also has been directing it since 2010. Incidentally, he has the honour of being the youngest Kabuki actor to grace the stage of the historic Shinbashi Enbujo theatre in Tokyo, where Takizawa Kabuki is usually staged.
To mark its successful run and tenth anniversary, it will be performed outside Japan for the first time when it comes to the Marina Bay Sands in August.
Those expecting to see the traditional Japanese theatre art form unfold on stage might be in for a slight surprise because despite the title, this is no ordinary Kabuki performance, save for the elaborate sets and numerous costume changes the cast of 30 led by Takizawa go through.
Instead, the show, which costs 800 milion yen (S$8.9 million) to produce, takes elements of the classic Japanese art form and updates it with modern technology more often seen in Western musical theatre productions. A Taiko drum segment in this year's show, for instance, features Takizawa playing it while spinning 360 degrees in mid-air - just like Tommy Lee at a Motley Crue gig!
Kabuki with a modern touch
In fact, Takizawa Kabuki plays more like an all-star mega-concert with the 33-year-old leading man and his co-actors - usually members of other idol groups from Kitagawa's stable of boybands, such as ABC-Z's Fumito Kawai and Kis-My-Ft2's Kitayama Hiromitsu who are in this year's edition - joining him on-stage for gravity-defying acrobatic acts, energetic dance routines, comic skits and even a bit of magic.
Call it Kabuki 2.0 because the concept is as uniquely Japanese as capsule hotels and quite unlike any live theatre spectacular you've ever seen. Produced by one of Japan's leading movie studios, Shochiku Company - which has been a patron of Kabuki for the last century and now produces every Kabuki performance throughout the country - the show is something its vice-president and executive producer, Tadashi Abiko, is extremely proud of because it shows the continual evolution of the classic art form which dates back to 1603.
Despite kabuki still being extremely popular - 1.3 million people watch various shows staged throughout the year at Tokyo's famed Kabuki-za theatre in Ginza annually - Shochiku's involvement in Takizawa Kabuki also came during a time when it was looking to revitalise the art form to attract a younger audience who might want something a bit more contemporary.
Even with the show's unique "Japanese entertainment with Western elements" concept, Mr Abiko notes the success of any kabuki performance rests squarely on the shoulders of its charismatic lead actor. And Takizawa fits the bill not only because he's a household name but also because the latter loves the adrenaline rush of performing before a live audience.
The Singapore version of the show is set to be a special one - it will be altered slightly for an international audience and will feature highlights from the last 10 years. Takizawa reveals he felt inspired the moment he stepped into The Grand Theatre at Marina Bay Sands during a site recce earlier this year; and immediately he knew the venue was the right one for his show. "It's very beautiful and big enough for me to create various special effects and perform the acrobatic stunts," he muses.
Ever the crowdpleaser, he also has a special treat in-store for local audiences. "I hear it doesn't snow in Singapore so I will be bringing it with me," teases Takizawa.
Takizawa Kabuki will run for eight performances at Marina Bay Sands' The Grand Theatre from Aug 18-23 at various timings. Tickets at S$95, S$115 and S$170 go on sale online and at Sistic outlets soon.
Hideaki Takizawa
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The M/V Gallant Lady was shipwrecked during Hurricane Mitch on Bimini Island in the Bahamas in 1997. This is all that remains of the ship today.
This is a wonderful photo with that sky so overbearing.
As it happens I was photographing a shipwreck this morning. Certainly not in as colourful a place as this though. They make great subjects, its a nice shot.


Understand is one of the most well put together software development packages I've ever used. When trying to learn about a complex project, Understand will be where I turn first.
When I stumbled across an issue, your support team responded rapidly, with a fix out in days. I licensed Understand even before my trial was up, I was that impressed.


DULUTH, MINNESOTA (July 18, 2017) – Bus Operators from across the state showed-off their safe and professional driving abilities at the 30th Annual Minnesota State Bus Roadeo last Saturday, July 15, 2017, in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. The event was hosted by Transit Alternatives.
Duluth Transit Authority (DTA) bus operator Paul Mattson from Hermantown placed Second in the Large Bus Division Competition. He also received the 2017 Duane Duner Memorial – Drivers' Choice Award. In six years of competition, Mattson has placed both Third and Second twice and was the 1st Place Champion in 2014. The DTA will host the 31st Annual Minnesota State Bus Roadeo in 2018 in the parking lot of Lake Superior College.
The Roadeo features bus operators coming together from public transit systems across Minnesota to compete in a series of twelve obstacles that challenge their safety knowledge and driving skills. The event is coordinated by the Minnesota Public Transit Association (MPTA) who works in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). A maximum of 50 points is possible at each obstacle with volunteer judges working in pairs at each to manage the scoring sheets accordingly. Official scores for both the Large and Small Bus Division Competitions are listed below.
Top honors in the Large Bus Division competition went to David Palm, representing Metro Transit in the Twin Cities, who had a score of 555. The DTA's Paul Mattson earned the Second-Place title with a score of 533. Third Place honors went to another Metro Transit bus operator, Douglas John, who had a score of 518. There were eleven competitors in the Large Bus Division.
First Place in the Small-Bus Division competition was earned by Todd DeZurik from St. Cloud Metro Bus with a score of 558. In Second Place, was David Peacock also from St. Cloud Metro Bus with a score of 521. Third Place was Glenn Zimmel from Tri-Cap Transit with a score of 488. There were 27 competitors in the Small Bus Division.
Official Results will soon be posted on the Minnesota Public Transit Association's (MPTA) website. Please visit www.MPTA-Transit.org for details.


text:
evolastin Love
Feb 27, 2012 | Collagen | 0 |
Before evolastin
Two months after one evolastin treatment
Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, MD, PhD, has seen a lot of skin-tightening products and technologies come and go on her watch. A New York City-based specialist in dermatology and laser surgery, Alexiades-Armenakas was there when Thermage first came out in 2004, and recalls testing it on Perdue chicken breasts.
This is why it says a lot that she is so excited about evolastin, powered by ePrime.
She doesn't hold back. "I think this is a must-have for any dermatologist who is a laser specialist or plastic surgeon who incorporates lasers into their practice," she says. "This is a huge step forward in our field. evolastin is at least three- or four-fold stronger than anything we have," says Alexiades-Armenakas, also an attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, Yale/New Haven Hospital, and Yale/West Haven VA Hospital in New Haven, Conn.
ONE-HIT WONDER
Manufactured by Syneron Inc, Irvine, Calif, evolastin allows physicians to deliver bipolar radiofrequency energy directly to the dermis using microneedles.
"It is not easy to get energy into the skin without injury to the epidermis," she says. Previously, dermatologists tried cooling technologies to avoid burns, but this restricted the amount of energy that could be delivered and, of course, compromised the results.
"There was a 10% improvement in our grading scale," she says. "That is not good enough, and patients were dissatisfied with the level of results with all these devices."
It was back to the drawing board time and time again. Until now.
With evolastin, the energy zeroes in on the skin's deeper tissue, bypassing the epidermis, so there is no risk of burns. Unlike other facial-rejuvenation techniques that require multiple sessions to see an improvement, evolastin is akin to a one-hit wonder. Just one treatment produces results within 6 to 8 weeks, and these results get better and better for the next 6 months.
This is another plus. "People get frustrated with four treatments and still aren't where they want to be," she says.
ONE-THIRD THE RESULTS OF A FACELIFT, MINUS THE DOWNTIME
Research published in the Archives of Dermatology showed that results achieved after one evolastin treatment is comparable to 37% of that seen after a facelift.
"The reason that this device is effective at treating skin laxity is because it is the first treatment shown to induce, not just collagen, but elastin and hyaluronic acid as well," Alexiades-Armenakas tells Plastic Surgery Practice.
"It is ideal for patients who don't want, can't have, or wish to postpone a facelift."
evolastin also incorporates real-time feedback and precise temperature control. "This allows us to deliver much higher energy for specified periods of time," she says. Not having this feedback is like baking a cake and not knowing the temperature on the oven. "You have to guess because there is no other way of knowing if it will be overdone, underdone, or perfect," she says.
ADD FILLERS FOR ENHANCED EVOLASTIN EFFECTS
When combined with fillers, evolastin takes patients that much closer to the effects of a fill facelift—without the downtime or recovery. evolastin works well with fillers or neurotoxins, when timed appropriately, she says. "I would use evolastin first, and then 6 months later, finish the job with filler," she says. "This absolutely mimics the effects seen with a facelift."
Amy Forman Taub, MD, a board-certified dermatologist who founded Advanced Dermatology and Skinfo® Specialty Skincare Boutique in Lincolnshire, Ill, is also a fan of the technique and the technology. "I tell my patients they will see one-third of the effect of a facelift because they can comprehend that," she says. "It tightens, lifts, and volumizes. These are three effects that you can't get in any one procedure."
Denise Mann is the editor of Plastic Surgery Practice. She can be reached at plasticsurgery@allied360.com.
EVOLASTIV TREATMENT: AT A GLANCE
Here are the answers to the questions your patients will ask first.
Be prepared:
One evolastin treatment takes about 60 minutes.
DOES IT HURT?
During the evolastin procedure, local anesthetic may be used to alleviate any pain or discomfort.
Minor redness, swelling, or bruising may occur, but it will gradually dissipate. It usually lasts for 5 days, but can be covered with makeup.
An evolastin treatment costs $3,000 to $5,000.
Ferguson J. Primed for radiofrequency treatments. Plastic Surgery Practice. September 2011.
Seiler WB III. Facial revolumizing using dermal fillers. Plastic Surgery Practice. September 2011.
Waddell S, Frentzen J. New RF-based handpiece shows promise. Plastic Surgery Practice. October 2011.
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This Procedure Gives Lift to the Breasts Without Surgery
Interview with the Vampire (Facelift Originator)


Two weeks ago, the lovely Net-à-porter team contacted me and asked if I would like to join their #EmpoweredBy campaign that they are running this month. As you know, Net-à-porter is my favorite online shopping destination and of course I felt very honored to be part of it. It is all about celebrating women all around the world who empower us!
Raise your arms above your head to create a natural W shape with your body. Just like I did.
Post your W on Instagram and say who you are #empoweredby.
Add friends to your post, asking them to do their own W and share who they are #empoweredby.
My look: Biker layered coat by Givenchy, studded cross sweatshirt and wide-brim studded rabbit-felt hat, both by Saint Laurent, stretch-leather skinny pants by Gucci, fur boots by Prada Sport and Kelly So Black bag by Hermès.


text:
Q: removing mysterious line break python I have this code that runs through lines in text file like this:
09824747 18 n 02 archer 0 bowman 0 003 @ 09640897 n 0000 ~ 10290474 n 0000 ~i 10718145 n         0000 | a person who is expert in the use of a bow and arrow
L = line.split()
L2 = line.split('|')
synset_offset = L[0]
lex_filenum = L[1]
ss_type = L[2]
gloss = L2[1]

They way i print these out looks like this
print('''<http://example.org/#'''+synset_offset+'''><http://www.monnetproject.eu/lemon#lex_filenum> "'''+lex_filenum+'''".
<http://example.org/#'''+synset_offset+'''> <http://www.monnetproject.eu/lemon#ss_type> "'''+ss_type+'''".
<http://example.org/#'''+synset_offset+'''> <http://www.monnetproject.eu/lemon#gloss> "'''+gloss+'''".''')

but for some reason a linebreak occurs after '''+gloss+'''
and looks like this
<http://example.org/#09824747> <http://www.monnetproject.eu/lemon#lex_filenum> "18".
<http://example.org/#09824747> <http://www.monnetproject.eu/lemon#ss_type> "n".
<http://example.org/#09824747> <http://www.monnetproject.eu/lemon#gloss> " a person who is expert in the use of a bow and arrow
".

I want to remove that linebreak as it wont allow the text to be formatted otherwise

A: .split() without arguments or None as the first argument removes whitespace around the line first, but .split('|') does not.
Remove it explicitly before splitting:
L2 = line.strip().split('|')

or after:
gloss = L2[1].strip()

.strip() removes all leading and trailing whitespace. You can be more specific and only remove newlines from the end using `.rstrip():
gloss = L2[1].rstrip('\n')

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


If you are having a situation where you need help for your Watertown garage door and if you want to install a new one, you will want to get professional services and we are the ones to do that for the garage door sales, repair, install services that you are in need of.
Milwaukee Garage Door is the best at working on any kind of garage door, with our experience, knowledge and know how in sales, installs and repairs and you will have top notch garage door service that always provides effective security and works the way you want it to. Our commercial and residential repair care is available day and night when you have an emergency here in Watertown, installs or replacements of all brands, like Able, Amarr, Clopay, Everdor, Genie, Liftmaster, Martin and more!
Milwaukee Garage Door knows that your garage door might be something in place for a home or it could be a bigger type of reasoning a professional establishment that requires this type of protection. If yours is broken, not working the way it should, has been hit by a vehicle, needs work on hardware or transmitters, you will want to have the best in care, and that is us at Milwaukee Garage Door, where our expert technicians have the right skills and tools to do the work you need.
More times than not garage door issues are at the most busy and tough times, and as opposed to having concerns about someone getting in you can be sure that we will make sure that your door is in great working order and you won't need to worry about a person having access to your garage, property or any other area.
We have worked on almost every problem that comes up with garage doors and we are the skilled professionals to handle your needs. We can work on metal, wooden, steel, vinyl and an any other type of door and, we'll be there to offer suggestions and show where you may need upgrades in systems or hardware, as well as provide sales of stronger or more secure doors. We are skilled and experts with the work you need and have many choices when compared to that will be in accordance with what you require and what you need, and we get the work done perfectly and fast for you.
From a single home garage to commercial doors by the dozen in Watertown, we can handle the work that needs taking care of. There is no amount of work that is too big or small for us to finish, and we're always there for you to take care of you.
Need to have a garage door repaired? Contact us here at Watertown garage door to have your chain or screw style garage door inspected, refurbished, modified or repaired. We'll fix any kind of overhead doors, openers, sliding gates, folding doors, chain systems or mechanical/electrical component issues. Watertown garage door also manages swapping in a new unit for openers and garage doors if it's impossible to repair the garage door.


text:
RICK SNYDER PRESS RELEASES
Lt. Gov. Calley encourages more pharmacies to register to carry life-saving naloxone for Michiganders
Written by michigancomeback on November 5, 2018 . Posted in Rick Snyder Press Releases.
Fifty-six percent of pharmacies are registered to carry the overdose antidote
LANSING, Mich. – As part of Opioid Addiction Awareness Week, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley is encouraging Michigan pharmacies to carry naloxone under the state's standing order for the life-saving overdose antidote.
"Having naloxone on hand can be the difference between life and death," Calley said. "While it's great that more than half of pharmacies have registered, I encourage others to get on board and participate so that we can save more lives and beat this epidemic."
Michigan has had a standing order in place for naloxone since May 2017. Since then, pharmacies across the state have dispensed 13,009 orders of naloxone; 4,533 through the standing order and 8,476 through prescriptions from physicians.
Currently, 56 percent, or 1,551 of the state's 2,769 pharmacies with controlled substance licenses are registered to dispense naloxone under the standing order. Through the standing order, individuals can receive naloxone from a registered pharmacy without having to see a healthcare provider. People who obtain naloxone from pharmacies receive information on steps for responding to an opioid overdose and important information about where to go for further treatment.
Previously, naloxone was available only to individuals who received a prescription from their doctor. In recent years, law enforcement and other first responders have increased their capacity to administer naloxone to address opioid overdoses – the majority which occur due to prescription painkillers, fentanyl and heroin.
From July to Oct. 1 of this year, Michigan pharmacies dispensed 2,681 orders of naloxone. Of those orders, 1,159 were filled under the standing order issued by Dr. Eden Wells, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services chief medical executive. The remaining orders were filled through prescriptions from other physicians.
In the previous quarter, from April to July 1, 3,174 orders were filled, 1,068 of which were under the standing order.
"Giving people who are at risk of opioid overdose and their loved ones who are there to assist them better access to naloxone remains an important part of the state's coordinated strategy for addressing the opioid epidemic," said Wells. "The standing order has the potential to save lives."
The standing order allows registered pharmacies to dispense the overdose-reversing naloxone to those at risk of an opioid-related overdose, as well as family members, friends and other persons who may be able to assist a person at risk of overdose. Registered pharmacies are required to track the amount of naloxone dispensed and report these numbers to MDHHS on a quarterly basis.
Similar to the rest of the nation, Michigan has seen a dramatic increase in opioid-related deaths. From 1999 to 2017, more than 9,200 people have died from an opioid overdose with more than 60 percent of those deaths occurring since 2010. According to preliminary data, there were 1,941 opioid-related deaths in 2017.
The state is using every available tool to combat the opioid epidemic. The collaborative efforts of state agencies amplify Michigan's efforts related to prevention and treatment of patients, education of health professionals and enforcement of anyone who overprescribes. Efforts include:
A new one-stop shop website (Michigan.gov/opioids) with all helpful information and resources on the epidemic.
Providing online resources for patients, health professionals and communities about prevention and treatment of opioid abuse.
The Michigan Automated Prescription System, which provides real-time prescription data and resources to better assess a patient's risk for substance use disorder.
Assistance with proper drug disposal of unwanted medications.
Michigan State Police posts serving as drug take-back sites and providing the Angel Program for individuals struggling with addiction.
For more information about opioids and the additional steps residents can take to protect themselves and loved ones, visit michigan.gov/opioids.


text:
Glose Is A New Ebook Reader That Turns Reading Into A Social Experience
Romain Dillet	@romaindillet / 5 years
Meet Glose, a brand new ebook reader for your phone, tablet and laptop. Glose is like the Kindle apps, but on steroids. Reading a book in Glose becomes a collective experience as you can discuss quotes with your friends and other Glose users, keep notes and more. You can also browse a feed of your friend's annotations to get a taste of books you have yet to read. At heart, the team wants to create a small social network around inspiring books.
But it goes a bit further than that. Glose is also a new ebook store. On launch day, you will already find 300,000 books to buy from traditional book publishers, including 4 of the 5 major publishers — Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette and Macmillan. Prices are competitive with the Kindle Store and the iBooks Store. Like on other platforms, you buy a book once and you can read it on all your devices.
For its first early adopters, Glose recommends a few startup books to read with the community. It works a lot like a book club as you will find a lot more annotations in these books than in the rest of the catalog.
I read the beginning of The Hard Things About Hard Things from Ben Horowitz. Beta users left annotations, and it made me want to read the rest of the book after this post. Glose makes a lot of sense for non-fiction. For example, people working in tech can comment with their personal first-hand experience on the topics of the book.
"I kept a notebook with handwritten notes and key quotes that I wanted to learn by heart or read later," co-founder and CEO Nicolas Princen told me in a phone interview. "This notebook — I lost it."
Princen started looking for digital alternatives and wasn't satisfied with Evernote and other note-taking apps. At the same time, with co-founder and CTO Julien Chaumond, they wanted to build a platform to connect readers who were reading the same book.
This is nothing new. Goodreads is a popular social website for book readers. But when you think about it, Goodreads is not really mobile, and not really interactive. It works more like IMDb — you look at these pages before or after reading a book, not while you are reading a book.
Overall, reading an ebook is still very much like reading the physical copy. It's not necessarily a bad thing as I stay away from book readers that promise me interactive content and dynamic soundtracks. But Glose is not like that. You will read the very same book, but with more content from other readers.
Glose is available on iOS and the web for now, with Android coming soon. When you open the app, you are presented with your own profile, and your latest highlights and annotations. This way, you can see if people liked or commented on your highlights. In the middle, you will find the books you are currently reading. Other tabs will let you browse the store, or see a feed or your friends' highlights.
The reading experience is basic but tasteful for now. For example, you can't select your font, and there are only two font sizes and a night mode. But on the right, you will get numbers telling you if people highlighted this sentence or commented.
It works a lot like Medium's inline comments and doesn't interrupt your reading session. If you want to immerse yourself in the book, you can turn off these numbers on the right or restrict them to your friends only. Now, the real difference with the Kindle app is how you highlight content.
"From the very beginning, we realized that it was hard to interact with the text in existing ebook readers," Princen said. "The first feature we developed was one tap highlighting. We analyze the text to cut it into sentences or short paragraphs. In one tap, you can highlight an entire sentence."
At first, it's not very intuitive and you end up accidentally highlighting content — every time you tap the screen, a sentence is highlighted. Then you get used to it and see the potential. I can see myself highlighting a lot more content in Glose than in other readers because of how easy it is. It's like double tapping a photo on Instagram to like it — after a while, you forget how you lived without this shortcut.
"When we activated one tap highlights, our metrics went up by 3 or 4 times," Chaumond said. "People now spend more time in our app because this interaction is very strong."
And of course, you will find all your highlights on your profile, like in your good old notebook. Glose mixes a personal notebook-like experience with social interactions.
When you annotate something, you can add text, photos or even videos. Other people can upvote or downvote your annotations so that the next readers can easily find the best annotations.
Compared to other recent ebook startups like Oyster and Scribd, Glose doesn't offer an unlimited subscription. As it is using a more traditional transactional model, it can access the current catalog of major publishers. In other words, Glose is playing a different game than Oyster and Scribd. It is competing with Amazon on features.
It remains to be seen whether existing ebook readers will switch to Glose for the community feature. The more people use Glose, the more interesting it becomes. For now, it is a well-designed app with a solid catalog. It is very promising to have a product-oriented team tackling the book reading experience. I hope that a strong community will embrace this new app.


San Pasqual residents Makayla "Kayla" Castro and Simone Aldern were pals from kindergarten through high school.
They were destined to be close friends forever, a relationship they did not expect to change when they went their separate ways to college.
Kayla, a scholar athlete graduate of San Pasqual High, enrolled at Grand Canyon Unversity in Phoenix while Simone stayed in the San Diego area to go to UC San Diego. One day in April 2016, Aldern learned Kayla was in a coma after being seriously hurt from a hiking fall.
Ten days later, Kayla Castro died.
To honor Kayla, her parents organized the Live Like Kayla Foundation, which raises money for college scholarships and sponsorships.
Now in its second year, the foundation held its major fundraiser in early August with a golf tournament, dinner, auction and raffle at The Santaluz Club near Rancho Santa Fe.
Next year, the third annual charity event is scheduled to be held at the country club, while other fundraisers, including the sales of holiday wreaths, are forthcoming.
"The goal of the foundation is to move Kayla's loving spirit forward," her mother, Allison Castro, said, in a written response following this year's tournament.
Aldern serves as one of the coordinators for the foundation's activities, including the recent golf tournament, in which about 90 golfers participated.
Additional donors attended the dinner, she said. Based on last year's results, she expects the event to have raised about $40,000 and to finance about 25 students.
"I would say it's one of the best ways to deal with the grieving process," Aldern said. "While the last year has been extremely painful in turning the pages on Kayla's life, (particitipating in the foundation) definitely helps in coping with her passing.
The foundation's mission, Aldern said, harmonizes with Kayla's goal of becoming a professional events planner and the compassion that Kayla exuded throughout her life.
Aldern recalled a story in which Kayla went out of her way to befriend a girl at school who was being rejected and bullied by other students.
Information about the Live Like Kayla Foundation and its fundraising efforts can be found at livelikekayla.org.