27136 - History of Dance and Movement Arts

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will:

– acquire a basic knowledge of the history of the dance and the arts of the movement in the western theatrical culture, with special reference to the contemporary times and the European and Italian context;

– learn and be able to use some analysis methodologies of the dance performance;

– be able to apply the competences and tools acquired during the course to the cultural diffusion

Course contents

This course gives an outline of the history of the theatrical dance, from the practices that confirm and establish theories and techniques of making dance into the theatre in 19^th Century, through the revolutions made in the beginning of 20^th, up to the variegated multiplicity that characterises our times.

More specifically, the second part of the course will focus on some practices and ideas of dance in Italy during the XX Century and today. From a reflection on the "beginnings" of the XX Century dance in Italy and crossing what remains about dance performances of the Second postwar period up to the Sixties, it will focus then on the problem of the birth and the characters of the "danza d'autore" that sets her own premises in the Seventies to bloom and to affirm herself in the Eighties. The discourse will develop through the comparison with some meaningful artistic experiences and, on the other hand, with the looks set on them from the critics and of the researchers. Meetings with artists and researchers and vision of shows will enrich the lessons.

 

Lessons will start on Monday the 1rst of February, 2021.

Readings/Bibliography

To take the final examination (12 credits), attending students are required to study four texts ( "attending students" are those that have attended at least the 70% of the lectures):

 

1) One book about dance history from XIX Century::

- Elena Cervellati, Storia della danza, Torino, Pearson, 2020

 

2) One book among:

- Eugenia Casini Ropa, La danza e l'agit-prop. I teatri non-teatrali nella cultra teatrale del primo Novecento, Imola, Cue press, 2016 (I ed. Bologna, Il Mulino, 1988)

- Elena Cervellati, Théophile Gautier e la danza. La rivelazione del corpo nel balletto del XIX secolo, Bologna, CLUEB, 2007

- Annamaria Corea, Raccontar danzando. Forme del balletto inglese nel Novecento, Roma, Sapienza Università Editrice, 2017 (free edition online: http://www.editricesapienza.it/node/7648)

- Roberto Giambrone, Pina Bausch. Le coreografie del viaggio, Macerata, Ephemeria, 2008

- Elisa Guzzo Vaccarino, La danza d'arte. Balanchine, Cunningham, Forsythe, Roma, Dino Audino Editore, 2015

- Concetta Lo Iacono, Il danzatore attore, da Noverre a Pina Bausch, Roma, Dino Audino Editore, 2007

- Elena Randi, La modern dance. Teorie e protagonisti, Roma, Carocci editore, 2018

- Elena Randi, Protagonisti della danza del XX secolo. Poetiche ed eventi scenici, Roma, Carocci editore, 2014

 

3) One book about dance in Italy:

- Elena Cervellati, Giulia Taddeo (a cura di), La danza in Italia nel Novecento e oltre. Teorie, pratiche, identità, Macerata, Ephemeria, 2020 (from p. 63 until p. 258)

 

4) One book among:

- Paola Bianchi, Corpo politico, a cura di Silvia Bottiroli e Silvia Parlagreco, Roma, Editoria & Spettacolo, 2014

- Adriana Borriello – Ada d'Adamo - Francesca Beatrice Vista, Chiedi al tuo corpo. La ricerca di Adriana Borriello tra coreografia e pedagogia, Macerata, Edizioni Ephemeria, 2017

- Vito Di Bernardi, Ossatura. Mimmo Cuticchio e Virgilio Sieni: marionette e danza in Nudità, Roma, Bulzoni Editore, 2019

- Rossella Mazzaglia, Virgilio Sieni. Archeologia di un pensiero coreografico, Spoleto, Editoria & Spettacolo, 2015

- Valeria Morselli, L'essere scenico. Lo zen nella poetica e nella pedagogia della Compagnia Abbondanza/Bertoni, Macerata, Ephemeria, 2007

- Francesca Proia, Declinazioni yoga dell'immagine corporea. Due studi complementari, Corazzano (Pisa), Teatrino dei Fondi/Titivillus Mostre Editoria, 2011

- Claudia Provvedini, Le parole del corpo. Il teatro fisico di Michela Lucenti/Balletto Civile, Corazzano, Titivillus, 2012

-Maria Paola Zedda (a cura di), Enzo Cosimi. Una conversazione quasi angelica. 10 oggetti per uso domestico, Spoleto, Editoria e Spettacolo, 2019

 

To take the final examination, non-attending students ("not attending students" are those who have attended less than 70% of the lectures) are required to go to the examination bringing a list of the shows, viewed through recordings video or live, on which they should be questioned.

In fact, it will be fundamental for the in-depth comprehension of the texts, to integrate the reading with the view of part of the principal performances described in the books, through video recordings available on dvd or online, (youtube, vimeo, numéridanse and similar). Students shall demonstrate the capacity to make references to these visions.

So, it will be necessary to see, at least, La fille mal gardée (1789), by Jean Dauberval; Giselle (1841), by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot; Lo Schiaccianoci (1892), by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov; Apollon musagète (1928), by George Balanchine; Lamentation (1930), by Martha Graham; Event (1964), by Merce Cunningham; Blaubart (1977), by Pina Bausch; Blue Lady (1983), by Carolyn Carlson.

Teaching methods

 

Because of the sanitary emergency, lessons will be both in the classroom and, for students that will be not able to personally attend lessons, throughoutTEAMS platform.

Lessons will be supported by commenting videos and pictures, as well as by meeting artists and scholars.

Assessment methods

The students’ learning outcomes on the history of the dance and the arts of the movement will be verified through an interview concerning the recommended bibliography to verify their ability 1) to move within the key phases of the history of the theatrical dance beginning from the Renaissance and to make specific reference to specific artistic experiences.

It will be assessed as excellent the performance of those students achieving an organic vision of the course contents, the use of a proper specific language, the originality of the reflection as well as the familiarity with the tolls for analysing the History of The Dance and The Arts of The Movement.

It will be assessed as discrete the performance of those students showing mostly mechanical or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, not articulated synthesis and analysis capabilities, a correct but not always appropriate language, as well as a scholastic study of the History of The Dance and The Arts of The Movement. It will be assessed as barely sufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, lack of knowledge of the discipline. It will be assessed as insufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, no orientation within the recommended bibliography and inability to analyse the History of The Dance and The Arts of The Movement.

Teaching tools

Visual documentation through projections of fixed and moving images.

Office hours

See the website of Elena Cervellati