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

The History of Dance course aims to provide students with useful tools to navigate the broad and complex landscape of theatrical dance with European roots, spanning from the 19th century to the present day.

The first part of the course will be dedicated to following the journey traced over time by two performances taken as exemplary case studies, Swan Lake (1985) and The Rite of Spring (1913). Both were created in distant eras, but have been staged continuously to this day, both in versions that seek to faithfully reproduce the past and in deliberately innovative versions (for example, those by Matthew Bourne or Mats Ek for the former, and those by Pina Bausch or Xavier Le Roy for the latter). Through these two titles, we will be able to explore the dance repertoire of the 19th century, moving through the revolutionary changes that took place at the beginning of the 20th century and the research experiences that marked the second half of that century, up to the varied multiplicity that characterises the times we live in today. In this way, powerful themes will also be explored, such as identity, originality and reproducibility of works, authorship and intellectual property, the gaze and visions of spectators, the relationship between past and present, nostalgia, memory and time.

 

The second part of the course will be dedicated to sharing and putting into practice useful tools for critically analysing dance performances. Various examples will be viewed and discussed in class, which may be the subject of short critical essays written during practical exercises, to be done individually or in small groups. The essays produced may be included in a publication edited by the students

Readings/Bibliography

Exam preparation is based on the study of selected texts and the thoughtful viewing of selected performances (on video or live).

a) the book

• Elena Cervellati, Tracce di danze. Permanenza, trasmissione e trasformazione dello spettacolo coreico (in preparazione)

b) the following basic tests:

1. Layson, June, Dance history source materials, in Carter, Alexandra (a cura di), The Routledge Dance Studies Reader, Routledge, 1998, London-New York pp. 144-153
2. Kealiinohomoku, Joann, An anthropologist looks at ballet as a form of ethnic dance, in Dils, Anne - Cooper Albright, Ann (a cura di), Moving history, dancing cultures: a dance history reader, Wesleyan University Press, Hanover c2001, pp. 33-43
3. Mauss, Marcel, Nozione di tecnica del corpo (1934), in Id., Le tecniche del corpo, Einaudi, Torino (any edition)

c) the following essays on dance performance analysis:

1. Adshead, Janet, An introduction to dance analysis, in Carter, Alexandra (a cura di), The Routledge Dance Studies Reader, Routledge, London-New York 1998, pp. 163-170
2. De Marinis, Marco, Semiotica, in Id., Capire il teatro. Lineamenti di una nuova teatrologia, Bulzoni Editore, Roma 2008, pp. 44-69
3. Anne Ubersfeld, Il lavoro dello spettatore, in Id., Leggere lo spettacolo, Carocci, Roma 2008, pp. 235-253
4. Banes, Sally, , in Id., , Wesleyan University Press, Middletown c1994, pp. 24-43 [#__RefHeading__260_2121886718]
5. Banes Sally, Criticism as Ethnography, in Id., Writing dancing in the age of postmodernism, Wesleyan University Press, Middletown c1994, pp. 16-24
6. Senjoy, Roy, Writing Dance Reviews, in «Springback Magazine», s.d., online: www.springbackmagazine.com
7. Guzzo Vaccarino, Elisa, La postcritica. Riflessioni per una “critica della critica” dagli anni Ottanta a oggi, in Cervellati, Elena - Taddeo, Giulia (a cura di), La danza in Italia nel Novecento e oltre: teorie, pratiche, identità, atti del convegno (Bologna, 28-30 marzo 2019), Ephemeria, Macerata 2020, pp. 39-55

d) one only volume from the following:

• Banes, Sally, Writing dancing in the age of postmodernism, Wesleyan University Press, Middletown c1994
• Brandi, Cesare, Musica, Danza, Teatro. Scritti ritrovata 1937-1986, a cura di Vittorio Brandi Rubiu, introduzione di Roman Vlad, Castelvecchi, Roma 2013
• Buckle, Richard, Buckle at the Ballet. Selected Criticism by Richard Buckle, Dance Books, London 1980
• Coton, A.V [Edward Haddakin], Writings on Dance. 1938-68, Dance Books, London 1977
• Croce, Arlene, Afterimages, Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1977
• Daly, Ann, Critical Gestures. Writings on Dance and Culture, Wesleyan Univerity Press, Middletown 2002
• Gautier, Théophile, Écrits sur la danse, Actes Sud, Paris 1996
• Guatterini, Marinella, L’ABC del balletto, Mondadori, Milano 2006
• Guatterini, Marinella, L’ABC della danza. La storia, le tecniche, i grandi coreografi della scena moderna e contemporanea, Mondadori, Milano 2008
• Ottolenghi, Vittoria, D come danza. Storia, cronache, battaglie e piaceri, Di Giacomo, Roma c2000
• Strauss, Marc Raymond, The Dance Criticism of Arlene Croce. Articulating a Vision of Artistry, 1973-1987, McFarland & Company, Jefferson, N.C. c2005
• Tozzi, Lorenzo, Tempo di danza (1978-2003). 25 anni di danza in Italia tra cronaca e storia, Gremese, Roma 2004
• Volynsky, Akim, Ballet's magic kingdom. Selected writings on dance in Russia, 1911-1925, Yale University Press, New Haven – London c2008
• Approximately twenty articles taken from the periodicals ‘Balletto Oggi’, ‘Chroniques de danse’, ‘Dance Context’, ‘Danza e Danza’, ‘Springback Magazine’, ‘Teatro e Critica’ or other periodicals to be agreed upon with the professor.

For attending students, the reading referred to in point 4 may be replaced by writing one or more comments on performances (seen live or via audiovisual recording), and possibly by an oral presentation in class on the same performances. The written assignments and oral presentation may be carried out individually or in small groups.

 

Non-attending students will also prepare Elena Cervellati's essay, Between Dance and Performance. From New Dance to Today, in AA.VV., Storie di spettacoli . Uno sguardo contemporaneo, UTET, Milan 2023, pp. 5-36. They will take the exam with a list of 8-10 performances from among those mentioned in the above-indicated essay, which they will have taken care to view (live or via audiovisual recording) and which they will be able to comment on.

 

All essays will also be available on Virtuale; the books are available at the Department of Arts Library, as well as in other libraries, and in some cases are also accessible online.

 

 

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching methods

The classes will be supported by the viewing of iconographic materials and recordings of performances, accompanied by commentary.

Meetings with artists and scholars are planned.

Classroom exercises will include analysis and the writing of short critical texts.

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