Beauty in the Form of Dance, or Beauty of the Form of Dance? On the Need for Philosophical Aesthetics
Abstract
This article focuses on different concepts of beauty as discussed in philosophical aesthetics. An overview of the narrow formalist views on beauty proposed by Immanuel Kant and Clive Bell, and also by dance theorists such as David M. Levin and Rayner Heppenstall, aims to demonstrate that such theories are insufficient if applied to most dance practices. The author addresses and challenges the narrow formalist concept of beauty posed by the theory and practice of dance, discussing also broader ideas of beauty and aesthetic experience developed in the context of contemporary aesthetics, in particular those proposed by Arnold Berleant. The paper concludes with the question whether it is possible to look for beauty in contemporary dance practices.
