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| World Arts and Cultures/Dance | |
|---|---|
| Name | World Arts and Cultures/Dance |
| Established | 20th century |
| Type | Academic department |
| Location | University campuses worldwide |
| Disciplines | Dance, Performance Studies, Ethnomusicology, Visual Arts |
World Arts and Cultures/Dance World Arts and Cultures/Dance is an interdisciplinary academic field and university department combining dance performance, ethnomusicology, visual arts practice, and cultural studies within institutions such as University of California, Los Angeles, Columbia University, New York University, Harvard University, and University of Michigan. Programs often intersect with departments and centers like the Smithsonian Institution, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Getty Research Institute, and BAM to connect studio practice with archival research and community partnerships. Faculty and students engage with figures and institutions including Martha Graham, José Limón, Merce Cunningham, Katherine Dunham, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Paul Taylor, Pina Bausch, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Sylvia Plath (as cultural reference), Anna Sokolow, Ruth Page, Loie Fuller, Yvonne Rainer, Trisha Brown, Eugene Loring, Leonard Bernstein, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Robert Joffrey, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, Anna Pavlova, Ailey II, Harlem School of the Arts, Jacob's Pillow, American Dance Festival, and Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Academic formations trace roots to conservatories and universities such as Julliard School, Royal Academy of Dance, Royal Ballet School, Conservatoire de Paris, Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, École Jacques Lecoq, and Trinity Laban Conservatoire alongside early 20th century innovators like Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, and Doris Humphrey who influenced institutional adoption at Bennington College, Smith College, University of California, Los Angeles, Bennington College, and Hampshire College. Cold War cultural diplomacy linked dance troupes such as Ballets Russes, Bolshoi Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and tours sponsored by United States Information Agency to curricular shifts mirrored at Harvard University, Yale University, Rutgers University, and Ohio State University. Postcolonial and global studies integration drew on research from Francis Ford Coppola-era film collaborations, ethnographers like Franz Boas, Zora Neale Hurston, Margaret Mead, and choreographers including Katherine Dunham and Pina Bausch, influencing partnerships with museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Victoria and Albert Museum.
Programs typically combine studio courses, seminars, and practica involving repertory from Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Alvin Ailey, and George Balanchine alongside theorists such as Michel Foucault, Stuart Hall, bell hooks, Judith Butler, and Homi K. Bhabha in courses cross-listed with Comparative Literature, Anthropology, Musicology, and Theatre. Degree offerings include Bachelor of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, and PhD programs at institutions like UCLA, Columbia University, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and University of California, Berkeley featuring residencies with Mark Morris Dance Group, Merce Cunningham Trust, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, and Joffrey Ballet. Pedagogies integrate somatic practices from Feldenkrais Method, Alexander Technique, Yoga, and Kabat-Zinn-influenced mindfulness alongside notation systems such as Labanotation and Benesh Movement Notation in collaboration with libraries like New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Studio curriculum surveys techniques including classical ballet lineages from George Balanchine and Agrippina Vaganova, modern techniques from Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, José Limón, and Doris Humphrey, contemporary forms associated with Trisha Brown and Yvonne Rainer, African diasporic practices stemming from Katherine Dunham and Asadata Dafora, hip hop and street forms popularized by crews linked to The Hip Hop Theatre Festival, indigenous dances documented by Franz Boas and Zora Neale Hurston, contact improvisation from Steve Paxton, and repertory from companies like Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Mark Morris Dance Group, Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal, and Akram Khan Company.
Productions are realized in venues such as Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Sadler's Wells Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Sadler's Wells, Carnegie Hall, Royal Opera House, Jacob's Pillow, and festival circuits including Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Venice Biennale, Avignon Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and American Dance Festival with technical collaborations involving Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, United Scenic Artists, Assisted Living Performance Ensembles, and designers influenced by Isamu Noguchi, Pina Bausch collaborators, and William Forsythe’s integrated multimedia teams. Production curricula cover lighting from Jennifer Tipton’s practice, costume design referencing Barbara Karinska, stage management, touring logistics coordinated with International Association of Venue Managers, and rights negotiation with collectives such as Actors' Equity Association and AGMA.
Research spans archival work in repositories like the New York Public Library, Library of Congress, National Archives, British Library, and Smithsonian Institution and scholarship published in journals associated with Dance Research Journal, TDR (The Drama Review), Journal of American Folklore, Ethnomusicology Forum, and university presses at Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. Methodologies engage with theorists Judith Butler, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Arjun Appadurai, Gayatri Spivak, and Stuart Hall, and draw on archival projects around choreographies by Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, and community histories preserved by Dance Heritage Coalition and National Endowment for the Arts initiatives.
Departments partner with community organizations such as Dance Theatre of Harlem, Harlem School of the Arts, BAM Local, National Dance Institute, Sadler's Wells, British Council, UNESCO, UNICEF, and local schools to deliver residencies, workshops, and outreach that connect repertory from Alvin Ailey and Katherine Dunham with public programming at institutions like Brooklyn Academy of Music, Museum of Contemporary Art, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Initiatives often involve funding and advocacy from National Endowment for the Arts, Art Council England, Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and partnerships with unions such as Actors' Equity Association.
Notable affiliated artists and scholars include choreographers and performers like Martha Graham (historical lineage), Alvin Ailey (lineage and company), Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Pina Bausch, Mark Morris, Trisha Brown, Twyla Tharp, José Limón, Katherine Dunham, Yvonne Rainer, Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, Robert Joffrey, Jerome Robbins, Anna Pavlova, Sylvia Plath (cultural studies crossover), and contemporary figures who trained at UCLA, NYU, Columbia University, Harvard University, Royal Academy of Dance, Julliard School, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Trinity Laban Conservatoire and who have joined institutions such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Mark Morris Dance Group, Martha Graham Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Joffrey Ballet, Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, and Ballets Russes as performers, directors, and faculty.
Category:Dance departments