Head of School of Media and Performance

Dr Jane Carr worked as a ballet dancer before studying dance in higher education. She was later a founding member of Quiet, an artists' group that collaborated on multidisciplinary performance works during the 1990's.

She also worked for many years at Morley College in Southeast London to develop opportunities for adults and young people to participate in dance. She received a BA and MA in Dance Studies from Laban and a PhD from Roehampton University in 2008.

Dr Carr has remained research active developing upon her doctoral research into embodiment in the context of a wide range of dance practices.

She serves currently serves as a member of the executive committee of The Society for Dance Research.

Qualifications

• Fellow Higher Education Academy
• PhD Roehampton University
• MA Dance Studies, Laban,
• BA (Hons) Dance Studies, Laban

Teaching expertise

• Dance practices and applied theory

Research projects

• Bedfordshire Choreographic Development Project - This Arts Council of England funded project explores the development of choreographic practices to reach audiences in Bedfordshire.
• Dominica as a Centre of Excellence for the Preservation & Celebration of the Creole Culture through Language, the Arts and its indigenous Kalinagos (AHRC funded) 
• Evaluation of the Black Dance Archives Project
• 'The Possibilities of Different Geographies’ - A collaborative performance installation project that is being developed through presentations at various locations including University of Amsterdam, (July 2016) and University of Roehampton (April 2017)
• Dance, Diaspora and the Role of the Archive: Symposia hosted in conjunction with Society for Dance Research and State of Trust (September 2016)

External roles

• Member of the executive committee of The Society for Dance Research.
• Fellow of Higher Education Academy
• Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance

Publications

• 'The negotiation of significance in dance performance: aesthetic value in the context of difference' in Van Camp, J.(ed.) The Bloomsbury Companion of Dance and Philosophy, London and New York: Bloomsbury. (2021)
• 'Shiftless Shuffle from Luton: An Interview with Perry Louis' in Ashley, T. and Weedon, A.(eds.) Developing a Sense of Place, The Role of the Arts in Regenerating Communities, London: UCL Press. (2020)
• With Deborah Baddoo, 'Dance, Diaspora and the Role of the Archives; Dialogic Reflections upon the Black Dance Archives Project', Dance Research 38 (1) May (2020)
• With Irven Lewis: 'Disrupting the Habitus: Improvisational Practices in Jazz Dance Battles', in Midgelow, V. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Improvisation in Dance, Oxford University Press (2019)
• With Bruce Sharp, ‘The Possibilities of Different Geographies’, Choreographic Practices, Winter (2018/19) 
• ‘Battling Under Britannia’s Shadow: UK Jazz Dancing in the 1970s and ‘80s’, in Akinleye, A (ed.) in Narratives in Black British Dance: Embodied practices, Palgrave Macmillan (2018) 
• Researching British (Underground) Jazz Dancing c1979-1990', in Adair, C and Burt, R, (eds) Routledge (2017)
• 'LandMark: Dance as a Site of Intertwining', Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, 6. (1) pp. 47-58. (2014)
• 'Dance as a Site of Intertwining: Re-considering the Embodied Interrelationships Between Dancer, Choreographer and Audience for the Twenty-First Century,' in Dinkgraffe, D, (ed.) Consciousness, Theatre, Literature and the Arts. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars (2013)
• 'Embodiment and Dance: Puzzles of Consciousness and Agency' in Bunker, J, Pakes, A and Rowell, B. (eds) Thinking Through Dance: The Philosophy of Dance Performance and Practices, Dance Books: Hampshire (2013)
• 'Re-remembering the (almost) Lost Jazz Dances of 'Eighties Britain', Dance Chronicle December 2012
• 'The Problem of Significance: Revisiting aspects of Laban's discussions of the significance of movement and dance from a twenty-first century perspective', in V. Preston Dunlop and L. Sayers, (eds.)(2010) The Dynamic Body in Space: Developing Rudolf Laban's ideas for the 21st Century, London: Dance Books.

Selected Conference Papers 

• ‘The Tangible and the Intangible: A Dancer’s Perspective on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage’, Creole Fest: Building Bridges Across Borders, University of Bedfordshire 9-10 November 2018
• With Debborah Baddoo, ‘Reflections Upon the Black Dance Archives Project’, Dance in the Age of Forgetfulness, Society for Dance Research, Royal Holloway, University of London, 18-20 April 2018
• With Deborah Baddoo, ‘Diasporic Experience and the Archival Process: Reflections Upon the Black Dance Archives Project (UK)’, Beyond Authenticity and Appropriation: Bodies, Authorship and Choreographies of Transmission, Pomona College, USA, 3-6 November (2016)
• ‘The Negotiation of Significance and Dance Performance’, Engagement: Symposium for Philosophy of Dance and Performance, Texas State University, 8-10 September (2016)
• ‘Disrupting the Habitus: What can be learned from the experiences of dance improvisation to inform creative models for social interactions and the identities to which they give rise?’ What’s in a Name? Improvisation Symposium, Middlesex University (2015)
• Dancing Into the Future: Negotiating New Dance Identities Re: Generations Re: Generations - Rethinking the past to re-imagine the future. ADAD/IRIE! Dance Theatre and De Montfort University. Pavilion Dance South West, 6-8th November (2014)
• 'Negotiating identities through the embodied interrelationships between dancer, (choreographer) and audience,' Questioning the Contemporary in 21st Century British Dance Practice, Leeds Metropolitan University, 18th July,2014
• 'Dance as a Site of Intertwining: Re-considering Relationships Between Dancer, choreographer and Audience for the Twenty-First Century' (invited speaker) 'Café Scientifique', the Place Theatre, London 2014
• Collaboration as a Site of Intertwining: Reconsidering the Embodied Interrelationships Between Dancer, Choreographer and Audience', On Collaboration II, Symposium 2013, Middlesex University London, 8th May 2013
• 'Re-remembering British Jazz Dance' (Invited speaker), British Dance and the African Diaspora Study Day, at De Montfort University, 11th January 2013
• 'Re-remembering the Past to Ensure a Legacy for the Future', Re:Generations ADAD/London Metropolitan University, The Place, London,1st-3rd November 2012&
• 'LandMark: Reflections Upon a Performance Installation.' Dance through the Looking Glass, International Conference on the Philosophy of the Moving Body, Ghent University in collaboration with Roehampton University, 1-2 June, 2012
• 'Record, Pause, Replay, Repeat: Video and the (Re) Production of Dance Knowledge'. The Theory, Practice & Art of Movement Capture and Preservation, AHRC funded symposium, The Knowledge Lab. London, 19th-20th January, 2012.
• 'Embodiment and the Puzzle of the Dancer's Agency', Thinking Through Dance: The Philosophy of Dance Performance and Practices, Froebel College, Roehampton University, 26th February, 2011.
• 'Battling Under Britannia's Shadow: British Dance Battles Before B Boys,' Re:Generations ADAD/London Metropolitan University 5th-6th November, 2010.
• 'Claiming Their Space: Virtuosity in British Jazz Dance,' Dance and Spectacle: Society for Dance History Scholars Annual International Conference University of Surrey, Guildford 8-11 July, 2010.
• 'Issues of control and Agency in Contemplating Cunningham's Legacy,' Society for Dance Research and Centre for Dance Research Roehampton, Dance History: Politics, Practices and Perspectives, Roehampton University Saturday, 13th March 2010.

Contact Details

T: +44 (0)1234 793164
E: jane.carr@beds.ac.uk