Courses:

Course Info

• Course Number / Code:
• SP.591J (Spring 2008) 
• Course Title:
• Traditions in American Concert Dance: Gender and Autobiography 
• Course Level:
• Undergraduate 
• Offered by :
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  Massachusetts, United States  
• Department:
• Music and Theater Arts 
• Course Instructor(s):
• Melissa Blanco 
• Course Introduction:
•  
• 
  
  21M.670 / SP.591J Traditions in American Concert Dance: Gender and Autobiography
  
  
  
  

  Spring 2008

  
  
  

  
  
  

  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.