ABSTRACT
Dance, commonly seen as the art of rhythmical movements of the body, is actually a vehicle to project ideas, be it social, cultural, or even political, particularly among the Hausas in Northern Nigeria. Previous studies of Hausa Koroso Dance have focused mainly on its aesthetics, while little cognizance has been given to the interpretative roles of the dance. This article examines the interpretative roles that dance plays in social milieu amongst the Hausas, and establishes how dance can be employed to interpret social and political ideas. Hausa Koroso Dance is identified as a form of total theatre called Kalankuwa. The dance (or dance-drama) is used to critique the ruling dynasties. In its economic role, it is performed to facilitate work by rhythmical execution of work-movements with musical accompaniments. Koroso Dancers ridicule socially unacceptable behaviours through carefully executed mimetic dance movements. Hausa Koroso Dance typifies the interpretative roles that dance, as an aesthetic practice, can play in contributing to societal progress and development.
Abstract
This editorial explores synergies between the articles gathered in this issue, which take a range of approaches to developing ecological analyses of both the creation and reception of performances and theatre history more widely. The editorial concludes with a reflection on the current UK government’s deliberate dereliction of the higher education sector, and its consequnces for the arts and humanities in particular. It calls for a concerted effort to grasp the politics of this developing situation, arguing that this will require two things. First, we must understand the drastic reshaping of the sector and the reduction of arts and humanities provision as a deliberate objective of government. Secondly, we must seek to engage resistance to this project at the ecological level at which those of us who work in the sector are entangled in its delivery, and find ways of creating alternative possibilities.

