Moving Writing: Memoir and the Work of Dance

What can memoirs teach us about navigating the demands of a life in dance, and about the ways these demands are profoundly intersectional: shaped by racial, gender, and class hierarchies and economies? This seminar examines memoir as an activist project and mode of performance illuminating the work of dance. Readings include works by Carlos Acosta, Misty Copeland, Li Cunxin, Mark Morris, Jock Soto, and others. Theories of personal narrative theory and autobiography guide our discussions. Students will conduct oral history interviews and investigate personal papers in local archives as forms of memoir. Emphasis on dancers in the Americas.

Princeton senior Sophie Blue ’21 explains why she’ll be taking a dance class this spring with Professor of Dance Judith Hamera.

Faculty

Sections

S01

Wednesdays, 1:30-4:20 PM

Instructor(s)

Judith Hamera