How did concert dancers and choreographers respond to the aesthetic, social, and political economic shifts we call ‘modernism’? How does dance enter the archive? We pursue these questions by examining the ways gender, nationalisms, race, and sexuality shaped ideas of the modern. Key figures include Isadora Duncan, Vaslav Nijinsky, Katherine Dunham, Sada Yakko, Martha Graham, Zora Neale Hurston, and others. We begin with dance modernisms in China, Japan, Mexico, and Europe before turning to US cases, with an emphasis on how dance artists negotiated their authority as state actors and public intellectuals.
Distribution Area: LA
Prerequisites and Restrictions
None. No prior dance experience is necessary. Not open to first-year undergraduates.
Other Information
Course includes in-class studio sessions devoted to the techniques discussed in class. No prior dance experience is necessary. Course also includes trip to the New York Public Library Robbins Dance Division to investigate primary sources in its collection.
If you would like to register for this course and the enrollment is currently full, please join the course waitlist.
