Constructing codes of behaviour: the ‘doxic agreement’ as a force for agency in contemporary dance technique training

Abstract

Utilising Pierre Bourdieu’s (1977) concept of ‘doxa’, this article proposes the notion of a ‘doxic agreement’, exploring its relationship with agency in the context of contemporary dance technique training. The discussion draws on the data gathered from two cycles of action research, which the author conducted in an undergraduate dance training setting in a British university. During this research, a ‘reflexive-dialogical’ (RD) approach to dance technique training was developed; this approach subverts dominant training structures by allowing dialogue and critical reflection to occur alongside physical dance practice. Data analysis reveals that the environment constructed through the application of the RD approach created a doxic agreement, a mutually negotiated structure that determined a code of behaviour in the training setting. Positioning the doxic agreement as a flexible structure that disrupted the recursive reproduction (Giddens1984) of the dominant training structures, the author examines the extent to which the agreement facilitated agency, leading to an expanded understanding of how agency is developed and displayed through the body-minds of undergraduate dance students.