Full 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.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Up from Under: The Africanist Presence
First Premises of an Africanist Aesthetic
Don't Take Away My Picasso: Cultural Borrowing and the Afro-Euro-American Triangle
Barefoot and Hot, Sneakered and Cool: Africanist Subtexts in Modern and Postmodern Dance
Stripping the Emperor: George Balanchine and the Americanization of Ballet
Past Imperfect: Performance, Power, and Politics on the Minstrel Stage
Dance and Theater in a Multicultural Context: Who Stole the Soul, Who Takes the "Rap," or Free To Be You and Me?
Illustrations
References
Index
