Analytical/Theoretical Study Moving the Movement: A Study of American Dance History Through a…

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All dance is political, simply because it is created by a human being who is of a particular place and time. Thus, the work is inherently commenting on that particular place and time. Using this framework, we will take a deep dive into American dance history from Reconstruction to today, with an eye on tackling the questions: How did this thing we refer to as “American dance” come to be? Who or what is missing from the canon? Why? How do we place ourselves inside this lineage? With a keen understanding of the state of the world at the point of creation, students will develop a critical eye through which to view performance—the how and the why of creation having equal footing with the physical forms. Further, students will begin to develop an understanding of how contemporary American dance is in constant conversation with dance of the past. Cultivating a Teaching Practice: Dance Pedagogy Now