In this unit, we will discuss what it means to be classical and cover three classical dance forms: Russian Ballet, Kabuki and Bharatanatyam. We will also cover dance in the United States looking at the Ghost Dance, Juba and American Minstrelsy, 17th & 18th century theatrical dances, and Puritan versus Shaker Christian Views on Dance.
Required reading: The Imperial Russian Ballet, A Brief History of Ballet and Modern Dance.
Required Reading: World Dance Cultures, Section 4.3.
Required Reading: World Dance Cultures, sections 1.1 and 1.2
Required Reading: “Theatricalizing Dancing and Policing Authenticity” and “These Native Americans were Murdered Just for Dancing”
Required Reading: Imaging Dance, Self Portraits: John Durang on Stage in Early Philadelphia
Required Reading: African-American dance revisited: undoing master narratives in the studying and teaching of dance history