Książka-kłącze. O „Słowniku tańca współczesnego”

The author discusses the Dictionary of Contemporary Dance (2022) reconstructing its structure and the main thematic areas. She refers to the metaphor of the rhizome book by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, activating it both in the context of the dictionary’s shape and dramaturgy, and in relation to contemporary dance as a field of performative arts characterized by heterogeneity and multiplicity. The main focus of the article is on the absence of the history of non-normative bodies and the work of artists with disabilities; the author critically examines this omission. Another strongly emphasized theme in the article is the connections between contemporary dance and phenomena such as orientalism and cultural imperialism. The aim of the article is, on one hand, to highlight the importance of the dictionary as a publication strengthening the autonomy of dance and choreography in Poland, and on the other hand, to expand the stories presented therein by reflecting on the mechanisms of exclusion and appropriation.