Digging the Africanist Presence in American Performance: Dance and other contexts

Description

This ground-breaking work brings dance into current discussions of the African presence in American culture. Dixon Gottschild argues that the Africanist aesthetic has been "invisibilized" by the pervasive force of racism. This book provides evidence to correct and balance the record, investigating the Africanist presence as a conditioning factor in shaping American performance, onstage and in everyday life. She examines the Africanist presence in American dance forms particularly in George Balanchine's Americanized style of ballet, (post)modern dance, and blackface minstrelsy. Hip hop culture and rap are related to contemporary performance, showing how a disenfranchised culture affects the culture in power. About the Author: BRENDA DIXON GOTTSCHILD is Professor of Dance at Temple University where she teaches performance history, theory, and criticism. Formerly a professional dancer and actress, she is the Philadelphia critic for Dancemagazine and has published articles in The Drama Review, Dance Research Journal, Design for Arts in Education, and The Black American Literature Forum. She is coauthor of the third and most recent edition of The History of Dance in Art and Education. Digging The Africanist Presence In American Performance Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Up from Under: The Africanist Presence 2. First Premises of an Africanist Aesthetic 3. Don’t Take Away My Picasso: Cultural Borrowing and the Afro-Euro-American Triangle 4. Barefoot and Hot, Sneakered and Cool: Africanist Subtexts in Modern and Postmodern Dance 5. Stripping the Emperor: George Balanchine and the Americanization of Ballet Photo Essay 6. Past Imperfect: Performance, Power, and Politics on the Minstrel Stage 7. Dance and Theater in a Multicultural Context: Who Stole the Soul, Who Takes the “Rap,” or Free to Be You and Me? Bibliography Index About the Author