Two styles of mentoring: A comparison of vertical and horizontal mentoring in dance

I conducted an in-depth qualitative study of modern dance professionals' views on mentoring relationships. My sample consists of eleven prominent modern dance choreographers and dancers who form a mentoring lineage spanning three generations. The lineage head is Anna Halprin. I compared my results on mentoring in Halprin's tradition of modern dance to George Balanchine's example of mentoring in ballet derived from literature.; Applying Li's (1997) vertical-horizontal dimensions of creativity I categorize Balanchine's tradition ballet as vertical and Halprin's tradition of modern dance as horizontal. Vertical artistic practices are resistant to transformation and place more value on preserving the tradition. Thus creativity is exhibited within certain highly specific constraints and the resultant works adhere to the traditional standards. In horizontal artistic practices, creativity can occur in an indefinite number of dimensions and novelty is encouraged. Thus the resulting works deviate significantly and purposefully from the previously established practice.; My investigation revealed that the mentors in my examples of vertical and horizontal artistic practice have formulated their mentoring and teaching methods to suit their creative goals. Balanchine's vertical style of mentoring is close to the traditional idea of a mentor. He was the source of absolute authority to his mentees, a mentor that was endlessly admired and worshipped. Instead of the authorial approach to mentoring, Halprin and her students prefer a more democratic model of horizontal mentoring. As mentors they consciously avoid the position of absolute power and allow their mentees a high degree of individual freedom. As mentees, they look for relationships where they can utilize their own creativity and artistry, rather than embody somebody else's tradition.; Previous research on mentoring has not paid attention to possible differences in the process of mentoring in different contexts. My study provides an account of vertical and horizontal mentoring that is beneficial to understanding the phenomenon of mentoring in general. More research is needed to decode the specific needs and symptoms of different domains and practices that lead to vertical or horizontal mentoring.