The study begins in the 1920s with early examples of narrative dance on Broadway and the contribution of African-American dance directors who were erased from the historic record. As early as the 1920s, dance directors implemented storytelling into their choreography, establishing a precedence for narrative dance on Broadway that continued to develop in the work of George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille and Jerome Robbins. Current musical theatre choreographic methods and the advent of the Dance Lab are examined as is a new model of hybrid choreography in Broadway musical revivals. Class time is divided between discussion and movement research.
