Ethnographic research is a type of research that attempts to make observations about how societies and individuals function within the context of "real life." Ethnographic researchers observe "life as it happens" rather than trying to create or recreate phenomenon in a lab.
What this means when studying dance is researchers do not attempt to study dance isolated from the context in which it was created. When studying dance, often different cultures have different contexts in which they study, perform, and share dance. Many times dance as an art form cannot be separated from other forms of expression like music, singing, chanting, intentional movement, rituals, poetry and spoken word, and other cultural expressions.
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Ojeya Cruz Banks (2023) notes that ethnographic research takes into consideration decolonial and social justice lenses with an "ultimate goal...[of] establishing relationships and respect" with the culture being studied. It's important to remember that many cultures have been studied from a colonial lens that often removed dance from the context in which it was created and superimposed their own meaning of what they observed, often leaving behind important cultural and community aspects of dance. When researchers engage in Ethnological research they are attempting to "recognize who has been silenced through cultural erasure, colonialism, racism, and white supremacist narratives and movements."
Banks, O. C., (2023). "Ethnography for Research in Dance Education: Global, Decolonial, and Somatic Aspirations" In R. Candelario & M. Henley (Eds.). Dance research methodologies: Ethics, orientations, and practices (First Edition) (pp. 212-227). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.