DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

On Day 1 of the week of studying dance, we discussed how the body can convey emotions with a little help from a group demonstration and Sesame Street. We discussed choreography, lighting, costumes, set, and music. We then watched some clips from Alvin Ailey such as Revelations.

 

On Day 2 in the week of studying dance, we discussed how dance has been used to subjugate people and how dance has been used to express freedom and power. We began by studying the history of the minstrel show and watched this film clip to view the concept of black face. We talked about the history of African Americans in film, and how once they were allowed to act in Hollywood how they were relegated to many stereotypical roles that involved song and dance. We watched the famous Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and his tap dancing expertise demonstrated in "The Little Colonel" with Shirley Temple. After this discussion, we watched a short compilation that visually explored the negative stereotypes of African Americans in film and cartoons. We concluded that dance had been used at the expense of Black folks for the entertainment of White folks.

 

But then the Civil Rights Movement happened, and the country began to shift. With this shift, came shifts in dancing as well. Dancing became a way to talk back to the audience, and we explored this through the avenues of hip hop culture, the revitalization of tap dancing, stepping, and clas/sick hip hop. For resoureces, please see below:

 

* breakdancing (we didn't watch a clip during class for time, but we watched the documentary "Planet B-boy" as our experiential component for the week. The whole film is available online here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XOwA0fc-dQ)

* tap dancing

* stepping (from the film "Stomp the Yard")

* clas/sick hip hop explanation

* clas/sick hop hop Little Buck Swan

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.