Bharatanatyam, butoh, hip hop, and salsa are some of the dances that will have us travel from temples and courtyards to clubs, streets, and stages around the world. Through studio sessions, readings and viewings, field research, and discussions, this seminar will introduce students to dance across cultures with special attention to issues of migration, cultural appropriation, gender and sexuality, and spiritual and religious expression. Students will also learn basic elements of participant observation research. Guest artists will teach different dance forms. No prior dance experience is necessary.
Sample reading list:
Cindy Garcia, Salsa Crossings: Dancing Latinidad in Los Angeles
Priya Srinivasan, Sweating Saris: Indian Dance as Transnational Labor
Jorge Popmaster Fabel, Physical Graffiti: The History of Hip Hop Dance
D. Soyini Madison, Critical Ethnography: Method, Ethics, and Performance
Brenda Dixon Gottschild, First Premises of an Africanist Aesthetic
Yvonne Daniel, Caribbean and Atlantic Diasporic Dance: Igniting Citizenship
Reading/Writing assignments:
Total number of pages the Student is expected to read per week: 75 -100. Each student will conduct a 3-visit participant observation of a Princeton University dance company or community company and discuss the results of this fieldwork using the vocabulary from the class. Three field notes will contribute to the final paper.
Prerequisites and Restrictions:
No prior dance experience is necessary to succeed in this course.
