Why did description become especially important in dance criticism during the 1960s?

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During the 1960s, the field of dance criticism underwent a significant shift in focus. The cultural revolution of that decade introduced postmodern dance and expanded existing artistic paradigms, which necessitated a change in how critics approached their work.1

In response to these developments, the four traditional cornerstones of criticism—description, interpretation, context, and evaluation—were refocused to place a primary emphasis on description. This heightened importance of description allowed critics to effectively document and analyze the evolving and diverse nature of dance performances during this period of transition.1