Topics in Performance Studies (250-0-1)

Topic

African American Dance History

Instructors

Nadine George

Meeting Info

AM Swift Krause Studio 103: Fri 11:00AM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

This class is a seminar in the histories, literatures and theories of Black dance focuses on the history of African American artists on the concert dance stage. Students will examine the major works, aesthetics, and creative journeys of some of the most important African American dance makers throughout history, with an emphasis on the 20th and 21st centuries. Discussions will consider the ways in which identity (race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, ability, religion, etc.), socio-political situations and individual missions have impacted Black concert dance in the United States. The ethics, politics, and stakes of representation in dance will be interrogated alongside the potentials and limits of agency, empowerment, and social justice through embodied practices. Students will also locate African American concert dance vis-à-vis African American culture writ large (social dance forms, music, literature, visual arts, national artistic movements, etc.), African Diasporic conversations, and patterns of global cultural traffic.

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for Theatre Majors, Dance Majors, and Performance Studies Majors only.