96431 - History of Dance

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student: acquires a basic knowledge of the history of the dance, especially in the context of the European theatrical culture from the 19th century until today; learns and is able to use some analysis methodologies of the dance performance; is able to read and understand bibliographical, iconographical and video documents.

Course contents

During the first part of the course, an overview of the history of theatrical dance that has emerged in Europe and the United States from the 19th century to the present day will be outlined, with a hint of earlier eras. It will touch upon the repertoire of the 19th century, then move on to the revolutionary instances of the early 20th century and the expansion of research experiences that marked the second half of that century, up to the varied multiplicity that characterises the times in which we live, in which future-oriented experimentation coexists with the legacy of the past.

We will look at video recordings of well-known titles from the more or less distant past - for example: Giselle (1841), by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot; Il lago dei cigni (1895), by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov; Le sacre du printemps (1913), by Vaclav Nižinskij; Kontakthof (1978), by Pina Bausch - and then analysing and commenting on creations made in recent times based on those titles, but from a contemporary point of view and according to different approaches (philological reconstructions, contaminated rereadings or radical reinventions), which inevitably bring into play strong themes, such as identity, originality and reproducibility of the work, authorship and intellectual property, the spectator's gaze and visions, the relationship between past and present, nostalgia, memory, time.

Readings/Bibliography

Preparation for the examination is based on

a) reading three books;

b) watching some performances (on video or live).

 

 
a) THREE BOOKS to be studied

1) One book on the history of dance between XIX and XXI century:

• Elena Cervellati, Storia della danza, Pearson, Torino 2020 (from p. 53).

2) One book of your choice from the following ones, useful to deepen some of the topics covered in the textbook:

• Eugenia Casini Ropa, La danza e l'agit-prop. I teatri non-teatrali nella cultura teatrale del primo Novecento, Cue press, Imola 2016 (I ed. Il Mulino, Bologna 1988);
• Elena Cervellati, Icone del balletto romantico. Marie Taglioni e Giselle nell'Italia dell'Ottocento, Ephemeria, Macerata (in corso di stampa);
• Francesca Falcone, Il Balletto triadico di Oskar Schlemmer. L’attività teatrale e coreica di uno degli artisti più poliedrici del Bauhaus, Dino Audino, Roma 2022;
  
• Concetta Lo Iacono, Il volo di Tersicore. Una storia per immagini del balletto russo, Piretti Editore, Bologna 2024 (soltanto i capitoli relativi al XIX secolo);
  
• Cynthia Novack, Contact improvisation. Storia e tecnica di una danza contemporanea, Dino Audino, Roma 2018;
• Elena Randi, La grande stagione del balletto russo. Fra Ottocento e Novecento: tradizione e avanguardia, Dino Audino, Roma 2022;
  
• Elena Randi, La modern dance. Teorie e protagonisti, Carocci editore, Roma 2018.

3) One book devoted to contemporary versions of past performances and the processes of remaking them in dance:

• Elena Cervellati, Rifare la danza. Ricostruzioni filologiche, riletture contaminate e radicali reinvenzioni del repertorio (in corso di pubblicazione).

 

b) VIDEOS (or live performances) to watch

• Giselle (1841), di Jean Coralli e Jules Perrot;
• Lo Schiaccianoci (1892), di Marius Petipa e Lev Ivanov;
• Le sacre du printemps (1913), di Vaclav Nižinskij;
• Apollon musagète (1928), di George Balanchine;
• Lamentation (1930), di Martha Graham:
• Trio A (1966), di Yvonne Rainer;
  
• Blaubart (1977), di Pina Bausch;
• Blue Lady (1983), di Carolyn Carlson;
• Beach Birds for Camera (1992), di Merce Cunningham;
  
• Iets op Bach (1998), di Alain Platel;
• a selection of 5 performances chosen from those covered in the examination programme volume Rifare la danza. Ricostruzioni filologiche, riletture contaminate e radicali reinvenzioni del repertorio.

A list of useful links to good quality recordings of the indicated performances will be published on Virtual.


We emphasise the importance of enriching the reading of the examination texts with the viewing of further videos, also in the form of short or very short extracts, relating to the performances treated in the same texts.

 

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NON-ATTENDING students will supplement their exam preparation by reading

• Luigi Allegri e Francesco Cotticelli (edited by), Alle fonti del teatro. Documenti per la storia dello spettacolo in Occidente, Carocci editore, Roma 2022 (only pages relating to the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries).

 

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Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities are suggested to contact as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

Teaching methods

Lessons will be supported by the commented viewing of iconographic materials and recordings of performances, as well as enriched by meetings with artists. The active participation of attending students will be solicited through proposed readings and classroom discussions.

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 to move within the key phases of the history of the theatrical dance beginning from the 19yh century to the present day 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 Dance history.

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 Dance history. 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 Dance History.

 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities are suggested to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Vision of iconographic and videographic documents, analysis of performances through playful tools.

Office hours

See the website of Elena Cervellati