“Class, Class, Class”: Experiments in Dance Education and Collective Practice
Eugene Lang College Lib Arts: The Arts
CRN: 15990
Credits: 4
For many dancers and performers, “class” is the place one goes to acquire “technique.” Drawing from philosophical theories of embodiment, dance and performance studies, as well as disability studies, students analyze how techniques of the body have functioned and been theorized in the history of U.S. concert dance. What can a body do? The course considers the role of technique classes in early U.S. modern dance, including discussions of the Bennington Summer School and dance programs within Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as well as dance schools such as The Martha Graham School, the Katherine Dunham School of Dance, and the Ailey School. Reckoning with the late 20th-century faltering of dance company structures, and considering challenges posed to routines of taking class posed by the HIV/AIDS crisis during the eighties and early nineties and the recent emergence of covid-19, students also explore contemporary experimental dance schools such as “class, class, class,” freeskewl, and the School for the Movement of the Technicolor People. Beyond the acquisition of technique, this course explores what else has been produced through the radical gathering and collective practices that have unfolded under the auspices of “taking class.” This seminar fulfills a dance elective requirement and would be of interest to any students curious about physical performance, histories of education, and theories of embodiment.
College: Eugene Lang College Lib Arts (LC)
Department: The Arts (ART)
Campus: New York City (GV)
Course Format: Seminar (R)
Modality: In-Person
Max Enrollment: 18
Add/Drop Deadline: September 11, 2023 (Monday)
Online Withdrawal Deadline: November 19, 2023 (Sunday)
Seats Available: Yes
* Seats available but reserved for a specific population.
Status: Closed*
* Status information is updated every few minutes. The status of this course may have changed since the last update. Open seats may have restrictions that will prevent some students from registering. Updated: 9:50pm EST 12/8/2023