Grants Freedom to the Artist and Confidence to the Critic
It all began at university when our professor—the brilliant choreographer and artist Petri Kauppinen—provided us with several completely different reviews and sources for the exact same performance. A single piece of work, yet radically different interpretations. How was that even possible?
Petri introduced us to the concept of dance criticism (tanssikritiikki)—a unique analytical tool whose flexibility extends far beyond the realm of choreography.
I want to express my deepest gratitude to Petri Kauppinen for this wealth of knowledge and freedom, as well as for his personal example and approach. Although back then, during my studies, I couldn’t fully grasp the entire essence and structure of all these methodological clusters, intuitively I embarked on a truly liberating journey into space.
This approach provides an incredibly solid foundation. It instills confidence in one’s own creative thinking, freedom of interpretation, and the inner liberation of the artist. This is where the fundamental difference lies between a credentialed artist and an untrained observer:
- A credentialed artist can place a trash can in the middle of a gallery, attach a well-reasoned interpretive essay to it, and turn it into a legitimate artistic statement because they understand context, methodology, and discourse.
- An untrained viewer, seeing the exact same object, will merely shrug their shoulders or dismiss it as nonsense.
We cannot directly alter other people’s opinions or debate everyone who angrily yells “That’s not art!” at contemporary works. But an academic education provides the most important thing: mastery of methodology. It gives you a grounded framework so you know precisely why you have the right to your interpretation, while calmly understanding exactly where your opponent strays.
The Dualism of Analysis: Fabula vs. Hermeneutics
In art, there is no single objective, linear blueprint against which meaning can be measured. Observing the exact same scene—be it a choreographic study, a psychological drama by Henrik Ibsen, or an intense shot in auteur cinema—different people perceive fundamentally different things. Where one notices strict adherence to form and literal plot progression, another uncovers a deep layer of family trauma, psychological defense mechanisms, and social subtexts.
At the core of any analysis lies a fundamental dualism: the distinction between fabula (the literal text) and interpretation (hermeneutics and contextual analysis).
- The formal (text-centric) approach adheres strictly to what is written or directly shown on stage. If Nora’s husband Torvald Helmer’s mother is never explicitly mentioned in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, then from a pure fabula standpoint, her influence on his character does not exist.
- The interpretive and contextual approach, by contrast, views the text merely as a score or a skeleton. It leaves space for so-called “gaps of indeterminacy” (Unbestimmtheitsstellen—a key concept in reception theory) that the critic, actor, and audience must fill themselves using psychology, sociology, history, and personal experience.
What is Tanssikritiikki: The Art of Seeing Beyond Formulas
By its very nature, dance criticism lacks rigid mathematical canons, formulas, or set-in-stone algorithms. Unlike literary studies anchored to verbal text, or theatre studies tied to a dramatic script, tanssikritiikki operates with the most elusive and intangible material—bodily movement, non-verbal signals, spatial dynamics, and raw sensory experience.
Instead of monolithic rules, dance criticism employs a cluster approach—a set of flexible tools that can be combined depending on the task at hand:
- Psychoanalytic and Phenomenological Cluster: Analysis of subconscious impulses, body language, physical tensions, manifestations of narcissism, trauma, or character defense mechanisms.
- Sociocultural and Historical Cluster: Reading the context of the era, gender roles, patriarchal or maternal structures that influence a character’s behavior (even if those figures remain off-stage).
- Spatial-Compositional Cluster: Interaction with pauses, rhythm, emptiness, light, and visual atmosphere.
Because of this versatility, dance criticism proves to be one of the most universal methods of interpretive analysis.
Applying Tanssikritiikki Beyond Dance: Cinema and Theatre
The toolkit of dance criticism is exceptionally powerful when transferred to other art forms where non-verbal and subtextual layers play a decisive role.
In Dramatic Theatre
When a critic or director analyzes Torvald Helmer in A Doll’s House, relying solely on the fabula limits understanding him to his spoken dialogue. Applying the contextual methodology of tanssikritiikki allows us to view his behavior not merely as that of a “patriarchal husband,” but as a complex expression of narcissism, enabling us to form hypotheses about his childhood, upbringing, and the maternal-patriarchal dynamics of the 19th century. A theatre critic “reads” the actor’s physical presence, pauses, and non-verbal subtext in the same way a choreographer reads bodily movement in space.
In Cinema
Cinematic language is inherently close to dance. Frame composition, camera movement, editing rhythm, and the actor’s physical presence in the shot form a visual dance. Using the dance criticism method, a film analyst looks beyond dialogue to examine how a character’s physical presence in space conveys unspoken meanings.
Tanssikritiikki as a Catalyst for Innovative Thinking
The tanssikritiikki method offers a powerful stimulus not only for analysis, but also for innovative thinking and overall creativity.
When you abandon the search for a single “correct” answer and begin thinking in clusters, the very structure of your perception shifts:
- Breaking Patterned Thinking: Innovation is never born where everything follows rigid formulas. The ability to connect seemingly incompatible domains—such as combining the language of choreography with psychoanalysis, or social history with shot physics—opens up entirely new creative dimensions.
- Multidisciplinary Synthesis: Tanssikritiikki encourages you to step boldly outside your narrow specialization. A creative individual ceases to be a mere performer; they become a researcher capable of borrowing perspectives from different fields and arts to build a unique output.
- Navigating Ambiguity and Unfinishedness: In any innovation process, the ability to navigate “gaps of indeterminacy” (Unbestimmtheitsstellen) is a superpower. Instead of being intimidated by a lack of clear instructions, the creator views this empty space as a fertile ground for experimentation, hypotheses, and fresh artistic solutions.
Conclusion: Why Shifting Contexts Signifies Mature Analysis
Reducing art to a literal reading of the fabula narrows perception. Literal analysis captures facts, but it is interpretation, hermeneutics, and contextual analysis that breathe life into a work.
Leveraging personal perception, drawing from adjacent disciplines (sociology, psychoanalysis, art history), and filling in the “gaps of indeterminacy” is not a departure from the truth or an analytical error. It is the hallmark of deep, flexible, and living critical thinking—one that sees art not as a static text, but as an ongoing dialogue between creator, artwork, and audience.
