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Course Description

Summary

A great deal of what we know of Non-Western dance makers is through written critiques, reviews, and social media. Contemporary dance artists in West and East Africa are essentially unknown in the United States. Dance as an art form is situated in a context of politics, history and the environment. In this course, we will look at, not only the critiques and reviews, but also the words, gestures, visual and sonic designs and films of the West and East African choreographers themselves. Students will have the opportunity to speak with (and in a few instances meet with) the living African dance makers. Students will be expected to write response papers after studying various choreographers that explore the sources that influenced their work, both artistically, but also drawing from their history, politics and the cultural and ecological environment. Additionally, students will use all available resources to identify and research another current dance-maker in West or East Africa and present their research to the class for a final project.