DAN 284 - Dancing Diaspora: Black Dance in America

Black Dance Matters. Drawing on scholarship about performance in the African diaspora, this course examines how Black aesthetics, cultural identities, and political movements have shaped-and been shaped by-performance culture in the United States. Exploring entertainment and concert dance performances from minstrelsy to the present day, this class will investigate how Black dance artists have staged their cultural experiences and intervened politically, and examine how those theatrical representations have been received and interpreted. Throughout our study, we will continually attend to the way in which the Black body in performance is “read,” analyzing a range of projected formulations, including stereotypical notions of the primitive and more empowering constructions of diasporic embodiment. Performance and the presentation of the body will be considered as potent sites for imagining and re-imagining Black identity. Taking a transnational and interdisciplinary approach, readings in Dance Studies and Africana Studies intermingle with performance viewings and movement practice. No prior experience with dance required.

Synchronous meetings once a week (online) are very highly recommended for success in this course.

Satisfies a minor requirement in Dance.
Counts as an elective in the Cultural Production & Expression category of the Africana Studies major (Geographic Region = North America).
Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.