African American Dance History Professor David J. Popalisky Zaire, Ngbaka harp, wood and skin.

African American Dance History

Professor David J. Popalisky

Zaire, Ngbaka harp, wood and skin

Class Welcome

• Who am I

• Who are you

• Getting to know you questionnaire

• Class atmosphere: a collective dialogue that needs everyone’s open contributions, questions and comments. My goal is to guide this dialogue and hopefully foster an excitement about the process.

Artifacts - what can we discover from, how do we react to:

images of another century?

70 year old film clips?

a poem?

The Little Colonel - Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple

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Syllabus Details

• Reading - due on day listed. Bring two questions on reading to each class.

• Watch videos - a few in media lab, most in class.

• Quizzes - online, generally after Thursday.

• Assignments - a quick look. More specific guidelines to be handed out

Syllabus Highlights

• Class guests - recent experiences with Afro-centric dance

• Dance class with Blanche Brown in Afro-Haitian dance

• Alvin Ailey Dance Concert in late February

Upcoming Events

• Choose partners for Project One by Tuesday, Jan. 16

• MLK Night - Jan. 15, Mayer Theatre

• Sign up for ANGEL this week

How is Dance History?

• How can we access a group of people, their lives, their triumphs and tregedies through dance?

• How do we understand or “read” dance?

• What does it tell us about the people, and circumstances of their lives, of their dances? Are these two different?


• Dance reveals meaningful information, tells us about the people.

• Why did they dance? • Religious, ritual• Secular, social• Performance, entertainment•Community – how does one relate to a community

•Where did they dance?• In - secret places (voodoo, slavery)• Jook houses, rent parties• In the open, in public• In performance


• How did they dance? • African based roots• Blends with European forms – interactions with other cultures. Irish - lowest social class of whites meant greater interaction with free blacks. Irish are the early minstrel performers. • Jazz and tap

• Who danced?• Slaves • Minstrels• Octaroons• 20th C artists - popular and concert


• For who did they dance? • Whites• Blacks• Mixed audiences

• When did they dance?• Holidays • Saturday nights• In performance

• High art and popular art - different contexts, intentions and audiences

African American Dance History Professor David J. Popalisky Zaire, Ngbaka harp, wood and skin.

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