Course Highlights
21M.670 / SP.591J Traditions in American Concert Dance: Gender and Autobiography
Spring 2008
Martha Graham had a strong influence on modern dance through her choreography. Here, she performs in "Visionary." (Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Van Vechten Collection, reproduction number LC-USZ62-106859.)
Course Description
This course explores the forms, contents, and context of world traditions in dance that played a crucial role in shaping American concert dance. For example, we will identify dances from an African American vernacular tradition that were transferred from the social space to the concert stage. We will explore the artistic lives of such American dance artists as Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus, and Alvin Ailey along with Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, George Balanchine, and Merce Cunningham as American dance innovators. Of particular importance to our investigation will be the construction of gender and autobiography that lie at the heart of concert dance practice, and the ways in which these qualities have been choreographed by American artists.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
This course content is a redistribution of MIT Open Courses. Access to the course materials is free to all users.
This course content is a redistribution of MIT Open Courses. Access to the course materials is free to all users.
