Christopher Newport University

Department of Music, Theater, and Dance

Spring 2023

DANC 340: Dance History and Contemporary Perspectives/Writing Intensive

T/R 3-4:15 ~ Ferguson 210

Professor Ann Mazzocca Bellecci
Ferguson A139 ; 594-0160
Office Hrs: Mon 2-4, T/R 2-3, and by appt.
ann.mazzocca.bellecci@cnu.edu

Catalogue Course Description: By exploring the works of the traditional and contemporary
repertories, this course will examine the historical importance of dance in various cultures. From
religious ritual to social outlet to communication medium to marketing tool, dance has embodied a
variety of purposes and functions through the ages. Concentrating primarily on Western European
dance traditions, the course will study the impact of ritual, liturgical and social dance traditions and
how these traditions have influenced our contemporary dance society and set the expectations for the
directions that dance is following today. Partially satisfies the University Writing Intensive
requirement.

Note on this semester’s course: Where would we start with the history of dance? When would we
start? Is dance history linear? Is there a point of origin we can locate? What about the present? Is it
always already intertwined with its past? Does it repeat? Is it cyclical? Or, some combination of these?
How is history written? Who writes history? How might we interpret history? How does the body
embody history? Does the body write history?
These are some of the questions we will engage with this semester as we delve across dance
disciplines, locations, approaches, styles, moments, archives, performances, and texts. Since we are
limited to one semester, we will focus on our own modern world. How was/is this world created? We
know it is steeped in imperialist and colonial(ist) enterprises as well as current global hegemonic
forces. We will discuss these terms if you are unfamiliar. We can know our history through the
performance and the historiography of the body. Through dance and choreography, the body speaks,
writes, reflects, resists, creates. We will explore dance history and performance through lenses of race
and racism, imperial and colonial histories and legacies resulting in exoticism/primitivism/Othering,
resistant practices of dance as political and as protest, the performance of gender, sexuality, and the
ways in which dance might reinscribe norms or be a space of individual and communal liberation. Our
project this semester is to look at all that our dance history tells us…about ourselves. It won’t always
be comfortable – but we are in this together. I will support all of you throughout this process. I hope
that you will commit to going on this journey together and supporting one another in our differing
views and experiences, our vulnerability, our need to question, to listen, to investigate, to ruminate, to
heal, and to discuss together.

Objectives: Students in this course will:

 Gain historical knowledge of the trends and developments of Western concert dance;
 Apply course material to individual research topics and as a basis for understanding and
critical inquiry;
 Broaden their understanding and appreciation of the Western concert dance tradition
specifically and artistic philosophical developments more generally;
 Develop skills in writing, oral presentation, analysis and critical thought; and
 Work with classmates to examine varying perspectives and ideas.
Required Texts: + Many readings will come from the Routledge Dance Studies Reader, 3rd
edition, edited by Jens Richard Giersdorf and Yutian Wong, 2019. Referred to
in the syllabus as RDSR 3rd. I will provide these chapters and post to Scholar
but if you would like to purchase this book, I recommend it.

Additional sources might include:

Routledge Dance Studies Reader (RDSR, 2nd and 3rd editions)
Futures of Dance Studies (Futures)
The Black Scholar
Dance Research Journal (DRJ)
Dils, Ann and Ann Cooper Albright. Moving History/Dancing
Cultures: A Dance History Reader (MH/DC)
Homans, Jennifer. Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet
New York Times, New Yorker, and Village Voice dance reviews by Eva Yaa
Asantewaa, Deborah Jowitt, Alastair Macaulay, Elizabeth Zimmer

Class Structure: This course will be a participatory class consisting of discussions, group projects,
written assignments, oral presentations, outside research, and viewing choreographic works. You may
be required to view materials on reserve at the Trible library, in our Theater Library, or posted to
Scholar. Your interests, research, questions, perspectives, and experiences will add to the educational
experience of our classroom collective. You are expected to attend each class, arrive on time for an
on-time start, and be prepared to participate in an informed and energetic manner. You are required to
attend one of three performances: Parsons Dance Ferguson Center for the Arts, Diamonstein
Concert Hall, Fri. Jan. 27th at 7:30pm; TheaterCNU’s 14th Annual Dance Concert Thursday or
Friday, March 23rd and 24th at 7pm in Peebles Theater; Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Tues.
April 25th at 7:30 (note: This performance is a must-see but is after classes officially end during a
reading day). You will write and submit a review of the performance you view the following week.
Your review will analyze aspects of movement, choreography, site/location, setting, relationship,
gender, style, costuming, props, music/silence, narrative/abstraction, etc. and will be two pages.
If you are interested in presenting at Paideia, Fri. April 14th, please talk to me and we can work out
your final project in an expedited manner.

Requirements:
Grading:
A grade for this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Class Attendance and Participation 15%
Oral presentation (1) 5%
Précis (2) 10%
Quizzes/Writing Exercises (Wks 3, 6, 10, 13) 20%
Performance Response Paper (Your choice of performances) 10%
Midterm Paper (Draft Wk 5, Completed due Wk 8) 15%
Final Research Project Prospectus 5%
Final Research Project/Presentation (proposal, draft, final) 20%

94-100 = A 73-78.99 = C
90-93.99 = A- 70-72.99 = C-
87-89.99 = B+ 68-69.99 = D+
84-86.99 = B 63-67.99 = D
80-83.99 = B- 60-62.99 = D-
77-79.99 = C+ Below 60= F
WRITING PROCESS AND GRADING
Writing is treated as a developmental process in this course and we will specifically work toward
clearer communication with specific and detailed observations of dance and performance in this
course. The three major writing assignments all include draft submissions. You will receive written
and sometimes oral feedback by me on these assignments. The drafts will not be graded but your
completion of them will be taken into consideration with your final paper grade. A rubric for the
writing assignments will be provided.

ATTENDANCE
Students should arrive on time, be well prepared, and ready to engage in discussion and classroom
activities. We understand that circumstances occur causing students to miss class. In this case, follow
the university’s mandated protocol. In general, two unexcused absences will result in the loss of one
full letter grade and effect overall participation. Multiple absences regardless of excuse will also
negatively affect a student’s grade.

Your grade will be determined by the percentage of classroom attendance and the quality of
participation during days attended. Perfect attendance may result in a B. You must participate in class
activities and discussions in a meaningful way – with openness, enthusiasm, focus, and preparation –
to achieve an A.

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS, FORMATTING, & POLICIES:

Documents submitted should be double spaced, 1” margins, 12 pt. Times New Roman. Name,
Subject, Professor, and Date should be in upper left topic corner, single-spaced. Deviations from this
will result in the lowering of the grade for the assignment. For citations, MLA Style is recommended
but Chicago Manual of Style is another option if you prefer it. Be consistent with your citation style.
You will usually submit a digital copy via Scholar.

Every week, one or two students will present a short oral presentation contextualizing and
summarizing the main points of the readings and ending with discussion questions for the class (see
in-class oral presentation guidelines and rubric). These will generally be on Tuesdays.

Two times during the semester everyone is responsible for posting to the Scholar Blog a précis with a
concluding question that arose in relation to that week’s reading. The précis are due at the latest by
9am on the Thursday of that week’s reading. Please see précis guidelines. First précis should be
posted by week 7, second by week 12. You may not hand in a précis for the same reading on which
you’ve presented orally.

We have a course libguide (https://cnu.libguides.com/dancestudies) which can be found alphabetically

by our course (HONR 339 or dance studies) in Trible Library’s list of guides.

NO CELL PHONES! CELL PHONES MUST BE PLACED ON SILENT OR TURNED OFF –

NO VIBRATING! CELL PHONES SHOULD NEVER BE USED DURING CLASS.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
Plagiarism, cheating, and academic dishonesty are not tolerated. I check all turned in assignments.
Cheating and plagiarism are defined in the CNU Student Handbook, and include (1) submitting work
that is not your own* for papers, assignments, or exams; (2) copying ideas, words, or graphics
from a published or unpublished source without appropriate citation; (3) submitting or using
falsified data; and (4) submitting the same work for credit in two courses without prior consent
of both instructors. Consistent with CNU’s established Honor Code, students who are found to have
cheated or plagiarized major assignments will FAIL this course and their name will be forwarded to
CHECS / Dean of Students. CNU’s Honor Code is established to encourage an environment of
intellectual development, personal growth, and integrity. The Honor Code follows:

“On my honor, I will maintain the highest possible standards of honesty, integrity, and
personal responsibility. That means I will not lie, cheat, or steal and as a member of this
academic community, I am committed to creating an environment of respect and mutual
trust.”

If you plagiarize, we will have a very uncomfortable conversation, you will suffer consequences in our
class in relation to failing that assignment and/or the course, and I will report the incident to CHECS
(Center for Honor Enrichment and Community Standards).

* Students are explicitly prohibited from using programs, products, or services that purport to
represent work completed by students. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of artificial
intelligence (AI) software or websites, such as ChatGPT. Use of such technology for any coursework
will be considered academic dishonesty and a violation of the University Honor Code. It will result in
a severe academic penalty and will be reported to CHECS.

INCOMPLETE AND LATE ASSIGNMENTS:

Organization and efficiency are important skills in all areas of life, so assignments are expected and
required on their due date. I will NOT accept late assignments. Missed quizzes, tests, and activities
will be counted as zero unless, in extraordinary circumstances, you have made arrangements with me
in advance. Please do be in touch to discuss alternative due dates, etc. if you need an accommodation.

UNIVERSITY STATEMENT ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION:

The Christopher Newport University community engages and respects different viewpoints,
understands the cultural and structural context in which those viewpoints emerge, and questions the
development of our own perspectives and values, as these are among the fundamental tenets of a
liberal arts education.

Accordingly, we affirm our commitment to a campus culture that embraces the full spectrum of human
attributes, perspectives, and disciplines, and offers every member of the University the opportunity to
become their best self.

Understanding and respecting differences can best develop in a community where members learn, live,
work, and serve among individuals with diverse worldviews, identities, and values. We are dedicated
to upholding the dignity and worth of all members of this academic community such that all may
engage effectively and compassionately in a pluralistic society.

If you have specific questions, suggestions or concerns regarding diversity on campus please contact
Diversity.Inclusion@CNU.edu

DISABILITIES:
In order for a student to receive an accommodation for a disability, that disability must be on record in
the Office of Student Affairs, 3rd Floor, David Student Union (DSU). If you believe that you have a
disability, please contact Jacquelyn Barnes, Student Disability Support Specialist in Student
Affairs (594-7160) to discuss your needs.

Students with documented disabilities are to notify the instructor at least seven days prior to the point
at which they require an accommodation (the first day of class is recommended), in private, if
accommodation is needed. The instructor will provide students with disabilities with the reasonable
accommodations approved and directed by the Office of Student Affairs. Work completed before the
student notifies the instructor of his/her disability may be counted toward the final grade at the sole
discretion of the instructor.

SUCCESS:
I want you to succeed in this course and at Christopher Newport. I encourage you to contact me during
office hours or to schedule an appointment to discuss course content or to answer questions you have.
During the Coronavirus pandemic, our conversations may need to be via electronic means. If I become
concerned about your course performance, attendance, engagement, or well-being, I will contact you
first. I also may submit a referral through our Captains Care Program. The referral will be received by
the Center for Academic Success as well as other departments when appropriate (Counseling Services,
Office of Student Engagement). If you are an athlete, the Athletic Academic Support Coordinator will
be notified. Someone will contact you to help determine what will help you succeed. Please remember
that this is a means for me to support you and help foster your success at Christopher Newport.

ACADEMIC SUPPORT:
The Center for Academic Success offers free tutoring assistance for Christopher Newport students in
several academic areas. Center staff offer individual assistance and/or workshops on various study
strategies to help you perform your best in your courses. The center also houses the Alice F. Randall
Writing Center. Writing consultants can help you at any stage of the writing process, from invention,
to development of ideas, to polishing a final draft. The Center is not a proofreading service, but
consultants can help you to recognize and find grammar and punctuation errors in your work as well
as provide assistance with global tasks. Contact them as early in the writing process as you can!

You may contact the Center for Academic Success to request a tutor, confer with a writing consultant,
obtain a schedule of workshops, or make an appointment to talk with a staff member about study skills
and strategies. The Center is located in Christopher Newport Hall, first floor, room 123. You may
email academicsuccess@cnu.edu or call (757) 594-7684.

PUBLIC HEALTH
The university will provide guidance on public health issues and students will be expected to
comply with university protocols.

SAFETY PROTOCOLS SPECIFIC TO COVID-19 AND ACADEMIC INSTRUCTION:

Masks are not required on campus yet there are times when you do need to wear a mask. For instance,

 If you have symptoms, wear a mask (remember, masks protect our community)

 If you need to visit the health clinic in the Freeman Center, you must wear a mask
 If you test positive or have been exposed to someone who has, wear a mask
 If you’re at high risk for severe illness, ask your doctor about wearing a mask; if you’re
unsure about your risk level, check these risk factors
 If you feel more comfortable in the confines of our class, please wear a mask.

Vaccines: The university encourages everyone to get vaccinated and boosted if possible. The CDC has
provided this guidance on vaccinations. If you would like to get one and haven’t yet done so, you can
visit Vaccinate Virginia to find nearby locations. I can tell you that I spoke with our Riverside partners
just this week and they have a number of vaccination clinics planned.

Testing is widely available in the community; at home tests can also be acquired through this testing
link. If you have symptoms, get tested. If you do test positive, don’t go to class, your campus job,
special events or anything else along those lines. You’re expected to isolate yourself if you test
positive.
Isolation: As was the case last spring, we have not set aside separate campus isolation spaces for
students; similarly, there aren’t special services set up to provide for students in isolation. What does
this mean for you?  If you test positive for COVID, you should plan to head home.  Plan for this in
advance so you’re not scrambling when you don’t feel great.  When you’re home isolating, be sure to
check out the CDC isolation guidelines or the VDH isolation calculator so you know how long to
remain in isolation (generally speaking, think 5 days).

COURSE MATERIALS:
All content created and assembled by the faculty member and used in this course is to be considered
intellectual property owned by the faculty member and Christopher Newport University. It is provided
solely for the private use of the students currently enrolled in this course. To ensure the free and open
discussion of ideas, students may not make available any of the original course content, including but
not limited to lectures, discussions, videos, handouts, and/or activities, to anyone not currently
enrolled in the course without the advance written permission of the instructor. This means that
students may not record, download, screenshot, or in any way copy original course material for the
purpose of distribution beyond this course. A violation may be considered theft. It is the student’s
responsibility to protect course material when accessing it outside of the physical classroom space.

SUSTAINABILITY:
To recognize and support CNU’s work to move our campus toward sustainability, I am making a
commitment to bring sustainability into this course. I support sustainability defined as: “the ability for
social and ecological systems to thrive together in perpetuity.”

To that end, I will (and will encourage you to):

 Turn off lights when you leave a classroom;
 Conserve resources by keeping this class as paperless as possible;
 Require civil discourse and an open, welcoming space at all times;
 Encourage health and wellness by discussing and providing resources for developing and
maintaining physical, emotional, and spiritual health while on campus.
COURSE SCHEDULE*

Week 1: Conceptualizing and Contextualizing History, Conceptualizing and Contextualizing

Ourselves and this course!

Day 1: Syllabus. Introduce texts, primary authors, and topics.

Discuss weekly presentations and sign-up

Questions of why study history? Why study the past? What is history? How is history constructed?
Why study the history of dance? What can dance tell us? How can we study dance history?

Reading: “Roots/Routes of Dance Studies” by Janet O’Shea – intro. to The Routledge Dance
Studies Reader (RDSR) edited by Alexandra Carter and Janet O’Shea, pp. 1-15.

Week 2: The Imperialist Lens – reading across the colonialist archive

Reading: Joanna Dee Das, “Dancing Dahomey at the World’s Fair: Revising the Archive of
African Dance,” in Futures of Dance Studies. p. 56-73

Presenter: ________Cassie___________ and ____________________

Week 3: The Imperialist Lens cont.

Reading: Adria L. Imada, “Transnational “Hula” as Colonial Culture,” in The Journal of

Pacific
History, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Sept. 2011), pp. 149-176.

Presenter: ______Reese_____________

Quiz #1 Thursday

**Parsons Dance Company, Diamonstein Concert Hall, Ferguson Center

Friday, January 27th at 7:30pm**

Week 4: Ballet’s modern identity 19th c. Romanticism and Russian Classicism – Gender
Reading: Deborah Jowitt, “In Pursuit of the Sylph: Ballet in the Romantic Period,” RDSR 3rd,
pp. 203-213.
[Romanticism]

Presenters: ______Courtney_____________ & ____Mackenzie__________

Ramsay Burt, “Nijinsky: Modernism and Heterodox Representations of Masculinity,”

RDSR 3rd, pp. 214-222.
[Classical ballet to the Ballets Russes]

Presenters:_______Parah_____________& ________Matthew____________

Paper Assignment Prompt #1: Topic TBD

3-5 pages. Draft due Thurs. Week 5; Completed paper due Tues. Week 8.
Week 5: Modern Dance
Reading: Susan Manning, “Race in Motion: Modern Dance, Negro Dance, and Katherine
Dunham,” RDSR 3rd ed., pp. 234-245.

Presenter:_______Caroline_____________ and _______Sarah_____________

Draft paper #1 due Thursday

Week 6: Africanist aesthetics in U.S. Concert Dance – Intertextuality

Reading: Brenda Dixon-Gottschild, “Stripping the Emperor: The Africanist Presence in

American Concert Dance,” MH/DC, pp. 332-341.

Presenter:______Kiana______________

Week 7: Africanist aesthetics in U.S. Concert Dance cont.

Reading: Thomas DeFrantz, “Simmering Passivity: The Black Male Body in Concert Dance,”
MH/DC, pp. 342-349.

Presenter:______Claire______________

Quiz #2 Thursday

Week 8: Midterm paper due Tuesday – presentations this week.

**12th Annual Symposium on African and Caribbean Diaspora: Culture and Performance**

SPRING BREAK!

Week 9: Capoeira/Brazil

Reading: Cristina F. Rosa, “Decoding the Ginga Aesthetic” in Brazilian Bodies and Their
Choreographies of Identification, (UK/New York: Palgrave Macmillan) 2015.

Presenter:______Renee______________ and ________Austin_____________

Week 10: Bomba/Puerto Rico

Reading: Jade Power-Sotomayor, “Corporeal Sounding: Listening to Bomba Dance, Listening

to puertorriqueños,” in Performance Matters, Vol. 6 No. 2 (2020).

Presenter:______Kim______________ and ________Maddie_____________

Quiz #3 – Thursday

Discuss initial ideas for FINAL PROJECT:

Final projects will consist of individual presentations accompanied by a paper. The presentation
can be in lecture form with power point and video or can be creative (both will be accompanied by a
paper). The creative project could be the restaging of a particular historic work, a revisioning of a
particular choreography, an original choreography inspired by a particular historic movement/moment
or choreographer, or another original project that inspires you, which I have approved. All oral
presentations will be 5-minutes. Performances will vary in time (perhaps 3-5 minutes). The
project/paper will include concepts and knowledge from class discussions, lectures and readings as
well as additional independent research. The accompanying paper will vary in length depending
upon choosing a research paper with accompanying short lecture presentation or a creatively focused
project with shorter paper: Lecture presentation: 6-8 page accompanying paper; Creative project: 4-
6 page accompanying paper. Sources: Must use at least one classroom text plus at least two additional
scholarly sources. Our class LibGuide will help with research.
 Your goal should be to go beyond our material in class. You should be able to closely
investigate a topic that we have covered in class. Tell me something I didn’t know!
Narrow your topic. A close investigation means digging deeper into one particular aspect of
a topic. If you are interested in George Balanchine, discuss a particular aspect of his
choreographic style. If you are interested in Katherine Dunham, discuss the relationship
between her choreography and her intellectual work as an anthropologist perhaps focusing on
one particular piece that brings these two aspects of her life together.
Consider a Paideia Presentation (Paideia, April 14, Week 13)!
1-page proposal due Tuesday, Week 11.
Prospectus due Thursday, Week 12.
Draft of paper due Tuesday, Week 14

***TheaterCNU 14th Annual Dance Concert, Thrs. Or Fri. 3/24 & 25 @7pm
Peebles Theater***

Week 11: Hip Hop / Global Ritual

Reading: Imani Kai Johnson, “B-Boying and Battling in a Global Context: The Discursive
Life of Difference in Hip Hop Dance,” Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics
No. 31, The Other Americas / ‫( ﺃﻣﺮﻳﻜﺎ ﺍﻷﺧﺮﻯ‬2011), pp. 173-195. Stable URL:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23216052.

OR, from Johnson’s book: “Dark Matter and Diaspora: Cyphers in an Africanist
Context” in Dark Matter in Breaking Cyphers: The Life of Africanist Aesthetics in
Global Hip Hop, 2022, pp. 29-58.
https://doi-org.cnu.idm.oclc.org/10.1093/oso/9780190856694.003.0002

Presenters:_______Melaina_____________ and _________Lizzie__________________

2-page concert review due Tuesday.

**Library Research Workshop, Tuesday**
1-page proposal for FINAL PROJECT due Thursday

Week 12: Competition Dance

Reading: Karen Schupp, “Dance Competition Culture and Commercial Dance: Intertwined
Aesthetics, Values, and Practices,” in Journal of Dance Education, 19:2, (Dec. 2018),
pp. 58-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/15290824.2018.1437622.

Presenter: ______ Keyontaye ______________

Detailed Prospectus due Thursday

Week 13: Review of concepts

Quiz/Writing Exercise #4 – Thursday

Draft of Final paper due Friday.

Week 14: Individual feedback sessions & ongoing research.

Individual feedback sessions scheduled for in-person meetings in my office, Ferguson A139.

**Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Diamonstein Concert Hall, Ferguson Center
Tuesday, April 25th at 7:30pm**

FINAL: Tuesday, May 2nd 2-4:30pm

Final projects will be discussed as we progress through the course but will consist of individual
presentations accompanied by a paper. The presentation can be in lecture form with power point
and video or can be creative (both will be accompanied by a paper). The creative project could be the
restaging of a particular historic work, an original choreography inspired by a particular historic
movement/moment or choreographer, or another original project that inspires you, which I have
approved. All presentations will be 5-minutes. The project will include concepts and knowledge from
class as well as additional independent research (see LibGuide for research resources). The
accompanying paper will vary in length depending upon choosing a lecture presentation or creative
project.

* This schedule, including exam dates, serves as a guideline for students and may be changed if necessary to
ensure fairness and to preserve the integrity of the academic process.